


Unfinished Business

by Quipxotic



Series: In a Kinder Universe [2]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Backstory, Canon-Typical Violence, Conversations, F/M, Post-Battle of Scarif, Pre-Relationship, Slow Build, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Suicide Attempt, Takodana, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-09-18 08:12:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9376016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quipxotic/pseuds/Quipxotic
Summary: Against all odds, a small group of rebel soldiers manage to survive the Battle of Scarif. But when mechanical issues force their ship to land on Takodana, they find themselves dealing with a new set of problems.





	1. SitRep

Jyn woke to the sound of nearby voices.

She was laying on a cot, although she had no memory of moving to one. Something on her right drew her attention. When she turned to look, she saw Bodhi kneeling beside her. He looked deeply concerned.

“Hey, hey - easy,” he said, hesitantly putting a hand on her shoulder to still her. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better, but I’m still here,” she replied, surprised at how much her throat hurt when she spoke. She looked him over. “Are you okay?”

The question seemed to surprise him. “Me? Oh, yes - I’m fine. It’s you and Cassian we’re all worried about.” 

Jyn glanced over at where Cassian lay on a cot perpendicular to her own. His eyes were half-closed and he looked exhausted. “How is he?” she asked quietly.

“Broken fibula.” Corporal Danva was fiddling with a handheld medical device as she walked behind Bodhi. “Cracked ribs, a blaster burn which I believe did only surface damage, and a concussion. I don’t think he has any internal bleeding,” she shook the device in annoyance, “but I’m not sure if I’m reading this thing right. I’m going to give him something for the pain and I’ve patched up what I could - splinted the leg, wrapped the ribs, applied bacta patches, that sort of thing. But long story short: he needs more help than we can give him.” 

“So we take him back to Yavin,” Jyn stated, nonplussed, “I’m sure they have medical facilities there.”

Bodhi looked uncomfortable. “You have to understand,” he began awkwardly, “I didn’t have a lot of time to plot a course…”

Jyn frowned. “So?” 

“So, we’re not heading to Yavin, at least not yet. But we will!” Bodhi insisted nervously, watching her reaction. “We’ll just have to come back into regular space so that I can set a new course to take us there.” 

Jyn felt herself getting frustrated as he spoke, which she knew was pointless. None of this was Bodhi’s fault, in fact he was the main reason they were all still alive. She took a few slow breaths and asked, as evenly as she could manage, “How long?”

“To come out into normal space? Maybe an hour? The trip to Yavin IV? Well…” They all heard a yell from the cockpit. Bodhi stood up quickly and began backing away. “Sorry, I asked Tonc to watch the controls while I checked on you. I gotta…get back…” And with that he rushed across the cabin and up the ladder.

Jyn looked at Danva. “Will it be fast enough?”

“It’ll have to be, won’t it?” the soldier observed. Then her mouth twitched into a slight smile. “Aren’t you going to ask me how you are?”

Jyn stared at the ceiling for a moment, considering the question. She knew that she ought to be worried about her own condition, but she couldn’t seem to find the energy for it. “How am I?” she asked dutifully. 

Danva listed the injuries like she was reading from a menu. “Strained knee or perhaps a torn meniscus - this thing wasn’t entirely clear on the details, but there’s definitely damage. Some burns to your face and leg, and lots of cuts, bruises, and scrapes.” The soldier knelt beside her duffle. “You were really out of it, so Tonc and I moved you. You feel like sitting up long enough for me to see what I can do for you?”

“Do I have a choice?” As she began to move, Jyn heard the ship come out of hyperspace. “I thought Bodhi said we had an hour?”

“He did.” Danva grumbled. “I wonder what kind of bad kriffing luck we’ve run into now?”

A few minutes later, Tonc made his way down the ladder. “There’s something wrong with the ship. We’re going to have to land so that Bodhi can look into it.”

“Don’t land anywhere there’s a large Imperial presence,” Cassian mumbled. It seemed an effort for him to speak. Gritting his teeth, he propped himself up on his right arm. “We don’t know if anyone saw us escaping Scarif.”

“Easy Captain,” Danva admonished, “you shouldn’t be moving.”

Cassian ignored her. “Where are we?” he asked as he pushed up to a sitting position. 

“Not far from a planet called Takodana. Bodhi said it sounded familiar. Anyone ever been there?”

Jyn and Danva shook their heads, but Cassian frowned.

“I have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm listing this as action/adventure because it becomes that eventually. But it is a very slow build with a lot of talking for several chapters first.


	2. A Change of Plans

It wasn’t Bodhi’s best landing but it was better than crashing. And for a while there, he’d thought crashing was the more likely option. 

He’d put the shuttle down on Takodana a moderate distance from a large stone temple, just as Cassian had instructed. Their landing site was secluded enough that they could escape detection - at least for a while - but close enough that they could walk to the nearby settlement. Bodhi glanced in that direction, watching the lights as they danced across the surface of surrounding lakes. Everything was bathed with the warm, amber glow of late afternoon. It seemed almost surreal after the chaos of Scarif. 

He shook himself a bit once he realized his mind was wandering. With effort, he turned his focus back to the task at hand: evaluating the damage to the ship. The process didn’t take long - the problems were easy enough to spot. When he was satisfied that he understood the issues, Bodhi climbed down the outside of the cargo shuttle and made his way back toward the cabin to tell the others what he'd found. 

Before he’d even rounded the port side of the ship, he heard the yelling.

“I’m going and that’s final.” Cassian’s voice was weary but firm. Still, Bodhi could hear the strain in it. He’d heard that tone before, when Cassian had called him from the data vault; hearing it here and now worried him more than any of the ship’s damaged systems. “Scynata is my contact and she knows me. I have to be the one to contact her in order for this to work.”

“You can barely stand, let alone walk!” Jyn’s voice was angry, frustrated, and Bodhi didn’t blame her for it. “What good will you be to anyone when you pass out?”

“She’s right, Captain.” Danva’s voice - calm, with a slight sarcastic edge. “You’d put us all at risk if you went in the condition you’re in now. Someone else has to go and I’m happy to volunteer.” 

“You haven’t missed much.” This was spoken softly and from much closer. Bodhi spotted Tonc standing guard at the edge of the ramp to the ship. “What’s the damage?” he asked, stepping aside so Bodhi could pass. 

“We should probably wait to talk inside.” Bodhi put a hand on Tonc’s arm in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture and began up the ramp.

The argument stopped the moment he came into view. All three of them turned to stared at him - Jyn and Cassian still sitting on their makeshift cots while Danva stood between them. Bodhi felt Tonc brush by him as he too joined them in the cabin. 

“So?” Jyn asked impatiently. 

“So communications are fried, literally. I think whatever short we developed on Scarif became a full-fledged meltdown after the Death Star…you know-“ Bodhi trailed off for a moment before turning to Cassian. “Sorry, I don’t think I can repair that. At least not without replacement parts - which we don’t have.”

“What about the drive systems?” Cassian asked. He seemed to be struggling to focus on Bodhi’s face. 

“There’s a lot of blaster damage back there. We were lucky to get off the ground, much less manage to stay in hyperspace for as long as we did.” And I’m very glad I didn’t know that while we were in flight, Bodhi thought, or else I would never have risked it. Sometimes it’s better not to know. “Still, the ship has a healthy amount of redundancies to make sure that cargo can get to its destination even in combat situations. I think I can repair or reroute the systems given time.”

“Then do that, and I’ll-“

“You’ll stay with the ship,” Jyn interrupted Cassian. “I’m going with Danva to find your contact.”

Cassian blinked at her a few times as if unable take in what she’d just said. “Like hell you will,” he said at last, like it was the most obvious thing in the universe, “you’re injured.”

“And you aren’t?” Jyn scoffed. “Unlike you, I can walk. Not fast, but I can manage for long enough.”

“Jyn, it’s not that I wouldn’t love the company,” Danva said carefully, “but Cassian’s right. Your knee injury could get worse if you try to walk on it.”

“So give me that brace from your bag. Don’t pretend it isn’t there,” Jyn waved away Danva’s denial before she could finish making it, “I’ve seen it. You shouldn’t go into the town alone, Danva. You need someone to watch your back.” 

“What about me?” Tonc spoke up. “I’m not wounded, I can go.”

Bodhi felt his chest constrict slightly. For reasons he couldn’t bring himself to consider too closely at the moment, he hoped Tonc would be staying with the ship.

Jyn shook her head. “Bodhi needs to focus on the repairs, so someone needs to guard the ship. And no, that’s not you,” she turned to Cassian, “you couldn’t hit a Star Destroyer at three paces in this state.”

“I’ve completed assignments with far worse injuries than this,” Cassian stated coldly. Bodhi wondered if that were true. Then he wondered what kind of assignments Cassian was referring to.

“Look, we can waste time arguing or you can tell us what we need to know to get the job done.” Jyn glared at Cassian. “Do you want us all to make it back to the rebel base?”

“Of course I do,” Cassian snapped angrily.

“Then we go with the plan that’s most likely to get us there and that’s me and Danva going into town, while the rest of you stay with the ship.”

For a while there was silence as Jyn and Cassian stared each other down. Finally, Cassian gave in. “Fine, but you’ll do exactly what I say. You will not deviate from the plan unless absolutely necessary, do you understand?”

“Perfectly,” Jyn said with a sickly-sweet smile.

“Now that that’s settled,” Danva interjected, “we have another problem. What are we going to do with the bodies?”

Bodhi was somewhat comforted by the fact that both Cassian and Jyn looked as confused as he felt. “What bodies?” he asked.

“The bodies of the Imperial inspection team,” Tonc clarified. “We didn’t have a chance to dump them on Scarif.” 

“And there’s Fisk, Vymatum, and Dremaeck. They died while we were defending the ship on the landing pad.” Danva’s sarcasm had vanished. She was very serious now. “We put them all in the cargo pods until we could figure out something else to do with them.”

“Let me get this straight,” Cassian began, “we have six dead bodies on the ship, including three Imperial soldiers who, if found, could be used to ID us all as part of the Alliance assault on Scarif.”

Tonc shifted uncomfortably. Danva just nodded. 

“Great.” Cassian sighed and wiped his hands across his face in exasperation. “Is there anything else anyone forgot to mention?”

Everyone was silent for a long time.

“Good,” he continued at last, “then let’s get to work.”

——

Once they’d agreed on a basic plan of action, Bodhi and Tonc went to gather the equipment to make repairs, leaving Cassian, Danva, and Jyn huddled together in the cabin discussing other details.

“Do you think this will work?” he asked Tonc quietly as he search every nook and cranny of the shuttle for tools.

“Of course,” Tonc said with forced confidence, no doubt for Bodhi’s benefit. “If we can survive Scarif, this shouldn't be a problem.”

Bodhi cringed as he said it. It felt like an ill omen.


	3. Ancient History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which our heroes talk...and talk...
> 
> Everyone onboard the Good Ship Exposition!

Cassian Andor preferred to work alone for many reasons. For one thing, it made it easier for him to adapt to changing situations. He could shed identities in an instant, change his approach to a problem without having coordinate with anyone, and, if anything went wrong, he was the only one at risk. Working with others meant he had to spend time managing people's feelings or manipulating them in order to get the results he needed and that was usually far less efficient.

In short, Cassian disliked complications. What he liked was control. 

But everything about Scarif had been complicated. Not enough intel, too little time to plan, too many variables to coordinate over too large an area, and various communications issues. He'd had simultaneously too many and too few people - too few to overwhelm the Citadel and too many for him to manage directly. He couldn’t be everywhere at once. He could only focus on obtaining the Death Star plans while prodding the rest of Rogue One into necessary action from a distance. In many ways it was his worst nightmare made real. And they’d lost so many people in the process - Chirrut, Baze, Melshi, Kaytoo…

He’d fully expected to die as well, had almost looked forward to it. Then somehow he’d survived, and now everything was complicated again. 

——

Cassian's awareness suddenly snapped back to the here and now. This lack of focus worried him more than any of his other injuries. His mind was his chief asset and, if that failed him, what use was he? 

He could see Danva and Jyn trading worried glances. If this was going to work he needed them focused on the plan, not him. 

“The Empire hasn’t devoted a lot of military resources to Takodana,” he continued, trying to pick up from where he’d gotten to before his mind started drifting, “it’s isolated, scarcely populated, and has a long history of political neutrality. But while there may not be Stormtroopers on the streets, there are plenty of Imperial spies here. People who work, either directly or indirectly, to funnel information to the Imperial military about this and every other populated planet in the Western Reaches. They also act as a militia, of sorts.” He took a breath and winced, clutching his hand to his side. 

“If there are Imperial spies here, why don’t the rebels have people here too?” Jyn interjected, her tone argumentative. Her combativeness confused him. Cassian had thought they’d moved past all that once they’d both committed to the Scarif mission. 

“The Rebel Alliance doesn’t have the resources to station anyone here. But there’s at least half a dozen other rebel groups with a presence on Takodana.”

“So what’s the problem?” Jyn asked.

“The problem is the groups don’t always get along with each other or the Alliance. Scynata works with one of the largest anarchist groups in the Western Reaches. They don’t particularly like the Alliance, but I think I can convince her to use their resources to help get a message out or to locate transportation for us.”

“So you don’t believe the pilot can fix the ship?” Danva asked, causing Jyn to glare at her.

“I believe Bodhi will do whatever he can to get this shuttle back in the air,” Cassian replied coolly, “but I also believe in having contingency plans. How much blaster fire did you take on the landing pad?”

Danva frowned. “A lot.”

“Exactly. We need to prepare for the possibility that we’ll have to find another way off planet. Scynata is one option. Another is Maz Kanata. She runs a cantina out of that castle Bodhi landed us near and she gives sanctuary to smugglers from all over the galaxy. She’s not aligned with any rebel group, but she’s no friend of the Empire either. She doesn’t typically take direct action, but she should be willing to put us in touch with Scynata.”

“And, worse case scenario, we can try to barter passage with a smuggler.” Danva nodded. “Got it.”

“Good, because here’s the hard part. Scynata is…difficult.” He looked at Jyn. “Not quite Saw Gerrera levels of paranoid, but if she suspects that you’re lying to her, she’s likely to have you killed.”

“And why would we lie to her?”

“Because she’ll want to know how we ended up here - what our mission was - and she can’t know about Scarif or the Death Star plans. With any luck, the Empire doesn’t know the Alliance has the plans. We need to keep them in the dark for as long as possible and the more people who know-”

“The greater the chance the Empire or their spies will hear,” Jyn finished for him. “So we’ll have to lie.”

“And do it well.” Cassian shifted, trying and failing to find a comfortable position. At least the pain cut through the fuzziness in his head. “Your best bet is to tell her I’m here and that I need her help. Then comm me and I’ll take it from there.” That seemed to catch Jyn’s attention because she leaned forward and studied his face intently.

“Do you have anything on you she’d recognize? Something we could use to prove we’re your messengers?” 

Cassian started to answer Danva, but Jyn beat him to it. “He doesn’t carry anything personal with him,” she said with such complete certainty that both of them stared at her for a moment. “Well you don’t, do you?” she added defensively.

“No. But if you remind her of what happened to Glave Marcus, the situation at Norvis Industries, or The Fifteen Days, that might convince her.”

“That’s it?” Jyn’s exasperation was clear in her face and voice. “That’s all you’re going to give us? You’re not even going to explain what all that means?”

“You need to get moving,” Cassina stated flatly. “Make sure you’ve got your comlinks and stay in touch. If Scynata or Maz ask you something you can’t answer, call me. Otherwise? Be careful what you say. You don’t know who might be listening.”

“You’re still in a bad way, Captain,” Danva observed. “Can you keep it together long enough for us to do all this?”

He glared at her. “I’ll have to.”

“What about the bodies?”

Cassian sighed. He knew this was going to be a touchy subject for Danva and Tonc. He didn’t like it very much himself. “We don’t have time to bury them and we can’t risk having someone discover them. They’ll all have to stay onboard for the moment. There’s no cold-storage in the hold, but at least there’s some temperature controls in that section. I’ll ask Bodhi to set them as low as we can manage - that should help buy us more time at least.”

“I’d like to take our people home if we can.” Danva stared at him meaningfully. “Give them back to their families.” 

“So would I, Corporal,” Cassian replied wearily. All this talking was taking a toll on him. “But let’s worry about the living first. Getting ourselves captured here doesn’t help honor their sacrifice any.” 

Danva stood up. “I better see what other weapons I can find, and maybe Rook has some extra tools or supplies we can barter with, just in case.” She looked at Jyn. “You coming?”

“In a minute,” Jyn said, keeping her eyes on Cassian. 

Danva glanced between them and shook her head. “Well hurry up. We’re losing the light and this trip will be hard enough without having to make it in the dark.” 

“Just give us a moment, okay?” 

Danva nodded and left the cabin. Once she was gone, Cassian turned back to Jyn. “What’s wrong?” 

“What’s wrong? Where to start? First of all, how do you know this Scynata person? If I’m going to have to convince her to trust us, I’m going to need more than a few random words without context.”

“Jyn-“

“Like you said, we need to prepare contingencies. If you’re aware and with it, we can have you talk to her or Maz, sure - but what happens if you pass out while we’re gone? I can bluff my way out of a lot of situations, Cassian, but if I’m going to be convincing to a paranoid anarchist I need to know more.”

Cassian sighed again, but relented. “Before I joined the Alliance, I was part of a few different rebel groups, which is how I met Scynata. She was from Mantoonie and I'm from Fest. Over a period called “The Fifteen Days,” the rebel factions we belonged to hammered out an agreement to join forces and create the Atrivis Resistance Group. Both of us were part of the delegations sent to finalize the agreement.”

Jyn nodded. “I remember Saw mentioning the Atrivis Resistance.”

“I’m not surprised. Anyway, the ARG eventually joined the Alliance. Scynata didn’t like the restrictions that came with that, so she left to join another, more radical group. We’ve seen each other a few times since then and, in a pinch, I’ve used her as my contact on Takodana.”

“Is that it? I mean, you were ready to try walking out of here on a broken leg to see her!”

“Because I know how she is! She trusts me, but you and Danva are a different story. Why are you questioning me on this, Jyn?” Cassian’s voice was louder now, his frustration growing. “We’re on the same side here!”

“Yes, we are - so you need to start trusting me.” 

Cassian couldn’t hide his surprise. “I do trust you. I went to Scarif because I trusted you, remember?” 

“Yes, so don’t slip back into old habits now.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m trying to help you, you stubborn moof-milker!” Jyn hissed at him. “Whatever ancient history you’re trying to protect isn’t worth any of our lives and it’s especially not worth yours! I’m not letting you die here, or get captured by some Imperial agent! 

“Jyn,” he said wearily, “I’m really not that important.”

“Don’t give me that! Me, Bodhi, Tonc, Danva - there’s only so much we know that would be strategically valuable. How long have you been with Alliance Intelligence? How many secrets do you know? What happens if you get capture here?”

“I won’t.” Cassian looked at her calmly. “Please don’t worry about that, because it won’t happen.”

Jyn stared at him for a moment, clearly trying to determine why he was so sure. “You have a suicide pill?” 

He nodded. 

Her eyes widened in panic. “You’re not going to take it. Not after everything-”

“Not unless I have to.”

“Cassian-“

“No Jyn, we don’t have time for this.” He paused. “Unless you want to stay to keep an eye on me and let Tonc go with Danva?” he added hopefully.

She gave him a look and he suddenly realized what was happening. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before. “You’re not leaving Tonc here to protect the ship. You’re leaving him here to protect me.”

“Well, you and Bodhi." Jyn smiled slightly, but her expression was determined. "I’m not losing anyone else, Cassian. Not a single person, including you. Got it? We’re getting out of this together.” 

He didn’t see any advantage in arguing with her on that point. “Together,” he agreed.


	4. The Past and the Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it was time we heard from the two lesser known survivors of the Battle of Scarif. 
> 
> I promise, I will get Danva and Jyn to Maz's castle very soon.

The Alliance Council was still in discussions, but elsewhere on Yavin IV a decision had already been made.

The newly-recruited soldiers scattered in all directions to gather supplies, weapons, and “anything not nailed down” as Captain Andor had said, in preparation for the mission to Scarif. Zas Danva rushed to one of the less busy storage rooms. She gave herself ten minutes to grab anything that might be useful - she didn’t want to risk getting left behind. 

Danva had nearly filled her bag when she heard someone behind her.

“Corporal?”

For a moment she was worried she’d been caught by someone from Alliance Command. But then she spotted Taidu Sefla walking towards her, grinning.

“Yes, Lieutenant?”

“I, of all people, appreciate boundless optimism,” Sefla began with a laugh, “but why are you packing medical supplies for this trip? Don’t you know a suicide mission when you see one?”

“You know what they say, Lieutenant: always be prepared.” She returned his grin. “I’d hate for us to go all that way just to have the mission fail for the want of a few bacta patches.”

“Good point.” Sefla grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the shelf. “And in that spirit, I think we need this with us too.” He shrugged. “Just in case we win. If all else fails, we can light it up and chuck it at some bucketheads.”

Danva chuckled as Sefla moved off in search of other supplies. She was getting ready to zip up her duffel when she spotted a small medical device lying on a shelf. She pick it up to exam it. 

“Eh, couldn’t hurt,” she muttered as she tossed it into the bag.

——

Danva zipped up the bag of medical supplies and pushed it out of the way. She was tempted to bring some of it into the village to trade but, without the certainty of medical assistance from somewhere, she didn’t feel they could risk doing without any of it. 

“Did you find anything?” 

“Yeah.” She glanced up at Jyn and gestured to the duffel on her right. It held an assortment of tools, rations, and other odds and ends. “I’ll carry it. You should put as little weight on your knee as possible. How’s the brace?”

Jyn bent her knee experimentally. “It’s…helpful. Doubt I’ll win any races but it should get me there and back. Where’d you find the blasters?”

Danva turned to look at the three weapons lying on the floor to her left. “They belonged to Vymatum, Fisk, and Dremaeck.” She shrugged. “They don’t need them, so I thought I’d give you first pick.” 

Jyn surveyed the blasters with an experienced, professional air. “And after that?”

“Well I’d ask Captain Andor if he needs one, but it seems that - despite everything you both went through at the Citadel - he still managed to keep his with him.” Danva pointed across the cabin where a holster holding Cassian’s BlasTech A280-CFE hung off an instrument panel within easy reach of its owner. 

“Of course he did.” Jyn sighed, as a fond smile flitted briefly across her face. “Check with him anyway. Bodhi can have the other one.”

Danva raised an eyebrow at that. “Are you sure? Has he even handled a gun before? Might make more sense to give it to Tonc or take it with us.”

Jyn selected her own weapon and gave Danva a sidelong glance. “I’m not leaving Bodhi here unarmed.”

The soldier nodded without comment and returned to packing. Frankly, she thought giving the weapon to Rook was a waste of equipment. But she’d seen how both Jyn and Cassian had reacted to her remarks about the pilot in the past and knew this wasn’t an argument she’d win. 

“Do you have a problem with Bodhi, Corporal?”

Danva made eye contact with Jyn who was watching her closely, eyes narrowed.

“No. Just with the uniform he’s wearing,” Danva replied, trying to keep her voice light. They couldn’t afford to turn on each other now. “I’ll get over it.”

“You better,” Jyn frowned, “because he’s on our side now.”

“I know.” Danva picked up the two remaining blasters. “I’ll see which one of these they each want.” 

“Good,” Jyn said, “and while you do that, I need to talk to Tonc.”

——

Corporal Stordan Tonc hadn’t been on Yavin IV long, but he could sense that something big was happening. He watched as the starships carrying the Alliance Council members landed and listened to the rumors whispered by the older military and support personnel. When he saw Sergeant Melshi and several of the other SpecForces soldiers heading toward a briefing room, he ran to join them. As a member of the regular infantry he knew he wouldn’t be invited to such high-level talks, but his curiosity got the better of him.

Slipping in with the crowd, he listened in horror as Mon Mothma described the Empire’s new planet killer. He paid close attention as General Draven gave background information about Jedha and the kyber crystal mining. When Bodhi Rook talked about Galen Erso’s work on the weapon, he couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the Imperial defector who was so clearly desperate to make things right. Then, with a growing sense of dread, he listened to Captain Andor and Jyn Erso describe the destruction at Jedha and the attack on Eadu.

After that, everything became a blur as the council members argued about what to do. Tonc saw Cassian shoulder his way through the crowd and whisper something to Melshi. The soldier nodded briefly and then the two of them headed quickly out of the room. Tonc debated for a moment before deciding to follow.

He caught up to them in a nearby hallway.

“I’ll talk to Sefla,” Andor was saying, “but I need you to find Casrich, Pao, Rostok - anyone else you trust who might be willing to join us. We’re going to need to leave quickly before-” He stopped when he realized they weren’t alone. Both men turned and regarded Tonc with suspicion.

“Sorry to eavesdrop, Captain,” Tonc said quickly, “but if you’re going to Scarif, I want to come with you.” 

Cassian eyed him warily. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Corporal…”

“Tonc,” he supplied. “They’re not going to do anything are they, sir? About the weapon? So that means we’re going to have to do it for them. Right?”

Cassian and Melshi shared a look. “Are you sure you want to do this, kid?” Melshi asked.

Tonc nodded.

“It’ll be unsanctioned. Even if we manage to pull it off, there’ll be repercussions.” 

“I don’t care. This is too important.”

Melshi shrugged and looked to Cassian for a decision. 

“Okay, you’re in,” the Captain said at last. “Come with me. I have some people I need to talk to.”

——

“Are you going to be be okay up there?”

Bodhi brushed off Tonc’s question. “I’ve worked on ships like this for a couple of years now. It’s not a problem."

“Still,” Tonc said, as he handed Bodhi his tools. “I wish I could help.”

The pilot smiled at him and then looked appraisingly at the sky. “I’m going to try to get a few things done outside while there’s still some daylight. When it gets too dark, I’ll switch to the repairs I can make inside.”

“Tonc?” Jyn asked as she made her way down the shuttle’s ramp. “Got a moment?”

“Yeah sure.” He watched Bodhi clamber up the side of the ship and disappear out of sight before turning to face her. “What is it?”

“Listen,” she glanced toward to cabin. “I need you to keep an eye on Cassian and Bodhi while I’m gone.”

“Of course,” Tonc replied. He’d planned on doing that already. “Why? I mean, beyond the obvious?“

“Bodhi gets jumpy if he doesn’t have something to keep him busy. So keep him focused on the repairs for as long as you can.”

Tonc chuckled. “I don’t think that will be a problem. He’s very keen.” 

“Good. As far as Cassian, make sure he stays conscious. We’re going to need to talk to him over the comlinks once we get into town.” 

“Okay-“ He still didn’t understand why she was acting like any of this was unexpected. 

“And if it comes to a choice, don’t worry about protecting the ship, just protect them.” 

“But-“

“We can find another way off world. The ship is not the priority - they are. I don’t want anything to happen to either of them, okay?” She looked him up and down. “You either, got it?”

“Are you expecting trouble?” he ask, frowning.

“No, but based on what Cassian says about the situation on this planet, trouble may find us anyway. Watch out for anyone taking too much interest in who we are and where we came from - they could be Imperial spies. Evidently there’s a lot of smugglers around here. If anyone asks, that’s what we are.” 

“Smugglers in an Imperial cargo ship?” Tonc couldn’t hide his skepticism. "Right."

“It doesn’t have to fool anyone for long. Danva and I will try to be quick.” She paused, biting her lip as if she was trying to make up her mind about something. “And there’s something else. Cassian has a suicide pill stashed somewhere.”

“Oh.” Tonc blinked. “You don’t think he’d…I mean, I know he’s injured but…”

“It’s nothing like that.” Jyn sighed. “It’s to make sure he’s not captured alive. He knows a lot of things the Empire would find useful.”

“Ah,” Tonc nodded, understanding now. “So what do you want me to do? Should I try to take the pill from him?” He hoped the answer was no - he didn’t fancy tangling with Captain Andor, even in his current state.

Jyn stared in the direction of the cabin in silence for a while. “No,” she said at last, although Tonc got the impression that she really wanted to say yes. “He’s right, it needs to be an option - at least as a last resort.” She looked back at Tonc. “Just make sure he doesn’t do it prematurely. I’d rather have him as a living pain in the ass than a dead hero.”

That was a sentiment Tonc could understand completely. “Yes ma’am. I’ll make sure of it.”


	5. The Pirate Queen

“Comms check. Can you hear me, Bodhi?”

There was silence for a moment.

“Yes, yes…sorry. I hear you, Jyn.” She heard a metallic clanging sound as Bodhi clearly fumbled a tool in his haste. 

“We’re getting ready to leave. Keep your comm with you just in case.”

“Roger that.” There was a pause. “I can fix this, Jyn. The shuttle.” 

She wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince her or himself. “I believe you, Bodhi-”

“So, so you don’t have to do anything, you know…dangerous. Because I’m going to fix it, okay?”

Jyn felt guilty. Here they were hedging their bets against him being able to do just that and he was trying to reassure her. “I know, but we have to explore all of our options.” She checked her weapon and then spoke into the comm again. “Did Danva bring you the blaster?”

“Tonc brought it.” Bodhi didn’t sound too happy about that. “But I don’t know how much use I’m going to be with it.”

“Keep it on you anyway.” When he didn’t answer, she followed it up with a stern, “I’m serious, Bodhi.”

“Okay, okay…yes. I will.” Another pause. “Just be careful, okay?” he said at last, so quietly that she barely heard him.

Jyn’s smile was small and sad. “You too.” She cut off her comlink and surveyed the cargo ship. Tonc was outside, already on guard near the ramp. Danva was standing on the path to town, waiting impatiently for her. There was only one thing left to do and she’d been putting it off. She turned to Cassian. 

His eyes were unfocused until he noticed her looking at him; then, with an effort, he concentrated on her face. “Remember everything I said,” he reminded her. His voice was firm and even, but she wasn’t fooled. She could tell he was in pain and barely holding on. 

“That won’t be hard, you haven’t said much,” Jyn quipped. She’d intended to sound sharp, biting, but she couldn’t manage it. She studied him a moment longer and wanted…something, but she wasn’t sure what. To punch him and demand that he be everything he was when they first met - strong, confident, in control? To wrap her arms around him and promise that it would all be okay? To yell at him until he was so angry that he’d stay alive just to spite her? She wanted all of those things and none of them. Above all, she couldn’t shake the feeling that if she left now, she’d never see him again. It made her chest feel tight in a way that had nothing to do with her injuries.

“You’d better be here when I get back,” she said severely, in an effort to hide her feelings, “or I swear I will hunt you down.”

Cassian smiled at that, fleeting and wry, as if they were sharing an inside joke. “I’d expect nothing less.” 

Jyn nodded and limped off the ship. She waved at Tonc, but resisted the urge to turn back for one last look at the shuttle as she walked away. Soon she and Danva were well into the forest and the ship was hidden from sight. 

——

The journey took longer than it should have, which Jyn knew was her fault. The brace on her knee stabilized it but also added weight. So, while she started off well, her strength soon began to wane. She and Danva plodded along in silence most of the way and that, at least, was a comfort. Jyn had to will herself forward with every step and she had no energy left for small talk. 

Several times she worried that they had lost the narrow path in the growing twilight, only to see it emerge again further on ahead of them. Along the way they passed various ships, freighters mostly, hidden among the trees. Occasionally she spotted someone lounging near a ship, watching them with suspicion as they walked by. Guards for the smugglers, she guessed. Good, at least Tonc wouldn’t look out of place back at the shuttle.

Danva walked slightly ahead of her now, impatience getting the better of her. The path eventually meandered out of the forest and past the stone walls of a small village. The track was still narrow, but well-worn and easy to spot now as it curved in the direction of the castle on the lake - Maz Kanata’s castle, according to Cassian. Jyn wasn’t sure what to expect, a whole castle for a cantina seemed like overkill. 

As they crossed the castle courtyard, a statue came into view - a female form with a large head and arms outstretched in welcome. A gentle breeze fluttered the banners hanging on either side. It would have been impressive on any other day, but Jyn was too tired to notice. She wanted nothing more than to sit down for a very long time. 

Danva waited for her at the base of a set of steps leading to a large red door. She offered her arm to Jyn who leaned on her gratefully, her usual defiant self-sufficiency abandoned under the weight of her exhaustion. They took the steps slowly, one at a time, and the door slid open as they approached. The noises and smells of the cantina flooded out, surrounding them as they walked inside together. 

The main room was packed with furniture, all of which seemed occupied. Humanoids, robots, insectoid species, and others too heavily shrouded in robes or armor to be identified, were everywhere. Some stood at gaming tables, wagering credits on games of skill or chance; others sat in clusters, deep in conversation around tables piled with food and drink. In a far corner of the room, a four-piece band was playing a style of music Jyn didn’t recognize. Everyone went about their business without seeming to notice the new arrivals, although Jyn suspected that theories about their identities would soon circulate widely. 

“You!” called a raucous female voice. Jyn and Danva kept walking, eyes searching for their quarry. “Hey you!” the voice yelled again. “Stop right there!” A small humanoid marched toward them with all the fury of a warrior queen. The figure stopped a short distance away and peered up at them through thick, round spectacles that made her eyes look enormous and bug-like. Her face was heavily wrinkled and she couldn’t have been more than four feet tall, but the force of her personality was obvious in an instant. “Yes, you! You think I don’t know who you are? No politics in here, understand? I have enough issues with the Belligerent Dawn, or whatever else they’re calling themselves this week. You wanna stay? You can stay, but if you start anything with anyone,” she waved her hand toward the door behind them, “out you go.” The woman paused to size up Jyn. “Although this one looks more likely to keel over than start trouble.” 

Jyn blinked under the verbal onslaught and tried to clear her head enough to respond. “Are you Maz?” The woman was short, loud, and in-charge, all of which matched Cassian’s minimalistic description of the cantina owner. 

“Well of course I am!” Maz replied indignantly. She paused again and looked at Jyn more closely, adjusting the magnification on her spectacles as she did so. “You…you, interest me. Who are you?”

“A friend sent us,” Danva said, taking a step closer to Jyn and putting a protective arm around her shoulders. “He said you’d know him. Dareth Casmel?”

Maz snorted in derision. “Oh, you’re two of his sort, are you? Yes, I know your _captain_ ,” she put extra emphasis on the last word. ”That explains why you look like you’ve been chewed up and spit out by a Zillo Beast.” She turned and walked away purposefully. “Come with me,” she called over her shoulder without waiting to see if they did as she commanded.

Jyn and Danva shared a confused look and then followed the cantina owner to a small alcove. It was partially separated from the rest of the room by a thin curtain, which Maz twitched out of the way as she entered and then back into place once the two women had joined her.

“Sit down before you fall down,” Maz nodded toward a small table and chairs. “I’ll see to food and drinks. You can tell ‘Casmel’ that it’s on his tab,” she said, ignoring their thanks, “and remind him that I always collect my debts.” She left them alone for a moment as she walked back towards the bar, barking orders at her staff along the way.

“That went…well, I guess?” Danva observed hesitantly. 

Jyn collapsed onto a nearby chair, too tired to reply. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed two heavily armored men staring at her from a few tables over. “We’ll see how long it lasts,” she mumbled, with more than a touch of worry. 


	6. A Friendly Offer

With a sigh, Bodhi abandoned his repairs, slung his bag of tools over his shoulder, and climbed briskly down the service ladder on the outside of the cargo shuttle. When he got close to the ground, he jumped the last few rungs and landed with a small, satisfying thud. 

He quickly spotted Tonc leaning against the ship, eyes scanning the area for any sign of movement. 

“Any luck?” the soldier asked, without looking at him. 

“Some,” Bohdi said, “but the rest is going to have to wait until daylight. This flashlight isn’t strong enough to let me see some of the more delicate repairs.” He looked around them. The night was still except for the wind blowing lazily through the trees. “Anything going on down here?”

“Nothing. It’s a bit eerie.” He gestured at the cabin. “If you’re going inside, could you grab me one of those ration bars? And check on Cassian while you’re up there. He was doing okay the last time I looked in on him but-“

“Of course, hold on,” Bodhi replied anxiously and scrambled up the ramp. Someone had adjusted the cabin’s lights so that the side with the ladder to the cockpit was well lit, while the side with the cots was dark. Bodhi could still make out Cassian’s shape as he sat on a cot, his back against the side of the compartment. He didn’t move or acknowledge Bodhi in any way as he approached. 

“Cassian?” Bodhi asked uncertainly. What would he do if the captain was unconscious? Or worse, what if Danva had been wrong in her diagnosis? What if he was more severely injured than they realized? What if he’d survived Scarif only to die on Takodana while no one was paying attention? What if…

“I’m still here, Bodhi,” Cassian said wryly. “Calm down.”

The pilot huffed out a sigh of relief. He was close enough now to see Cassian watching him with heavily lidded eyes. His forehead glistened with sweat, more than could be explained by the relatively cool evening. “Right, good. Good! Um, do you need anything? I was going to grab some rations-“

“For Tonc, yes I heard.” Cassian shifted slightly and grimaced. “Water, if we have any. Please.”

“Right, water, of course.” He began to turn but paused. “You should probably eat something too.”

“Probably.” He gave Bodhi the barest hint of a smile. “But I’m not hungry.”

Bodhi frowned but nodded. He dropped his tool bag on the floor, pushing it out of the way under a cot, and then headed to the compartment where they’d stowed what food they’d brought with them. He grabbed a couple of ration bars and canteens and carried everything back to the cot. Cassian pressed one arm against his side and reached out with a shaking hand for a canteen. Bodhi tried not to hover as the captain fumbled it open. “I’ll just leave a couple of these here,” Bodhi said as he dropped two ration bars on the cot beside him, “just in case you change your mind.”

Cassian covered the canteen and nodded silently. Then he shut his eyes. After a while, Bodhi realized that this was probably a hint that he wanted to be left alone. He remained close by for a few moments longer anyway, wracking his brains for ways he could help.

“Worrying isn’t going to fix anything,” Cassian mumbled. “Go on. Tonc is waiting.”

Bodhi sighed and walked back down the ramp. He handed Tonc a canteen and two bars and, finding what looked like the most comfortable place to sit, settled himself on the ground nearby to eat as well.

“Thanks,” Tonc said, before tearing the wrapper off one of the bars and munching quietly. They ate in silence, listening to the hushed, unfamiliar sounds of the wildlife on Takodana. 

“How are you doing with all of this?” Tonc asked suddenly, out of the blue. 

Bodhi looked up at him in surprise and for a moment he didn’t know how to answer. 

Tonc seemed to sense this and continued. “I mean, you’re not military. None of this is anything that you’ve trained for and the last few days have been rough.”

“Rough?” Bodhi laughed, but it sounded bitter even to his ears. “That’s a massive understatement.” He shrugged. “Dunno, I haven’t had much time to think about any of it, which is probably just as well. There’s too much to do to waste time dwelling, right?” He gave Tonc what he hoped was a brave smile. “I’ll have my nervous breakdown once we’re back and safe.”

“Sure,” Tonc said, although he didn’t sound like he believed it. “Just don’t…not deal with it. Trust me, it’ll catch up with you sooner or later.”

Bodhi was saved from replying by a rustling noise in the woods. It seemed to come from the direction of the path Jyn and Danva had taken earlier.

“Who’s there?” Tonc called out, his voice lower and rougher than Bodhi was used to. Bodhi scrambled to his feet as Tonc hooked his canteen on his belt and reached his free hand for his weapon. 

For a few seconds there was silence and then they heard a small chuckle. “Easy, friend, easy,” came the reply from an unfamiliar voice. “I’m just out enjoying the night, seeing who else is around. I don’t mean any harm.” 

“Glad to hear it,” Tonc said, motioning Bodhi behind him. “Why don’t you come out and tell us who you are?”

A humanoid form separated itself from the shapes of the trees and stepped slowly toward them. Soon the stranger was close enough to be illuminated by the light from the cabin and they could see that she was a woman. Her face was shrouded by a large scarf that was draped around her head and shoulders and she didn’t seem to be armed. “See,” she said, holding her hands out in front of her, “I’m not a threat at all.” Her voice was smooth and calming, with an odd accent that Bodhi didn’t recognize. 

Although he relaxed slightly, Tonc didn’t move his hand away from his blaster. “That’s close enough,” he said. “Who are you?”

“Elle,” she replied, taking one more step before stopping. She smiled reassuringly. “Elle Wothar. I’m a passenger on a ship that’s docked a bit further down the path.” She gestured behind her, toward the town. “We’re on our way to the Outer Rim. What about you?”

Bodhi started to speak, but Tonc spoke over him. “Name’s…Dremaeck.” He nodded toward Bodhi, “He’s Fisk. We’re…delivering cargo.”

Elle looked curiously at the ship behind them. “Cargo shuttle, huh? I don’t recognize the type. Where’d you say you were from?” 

“We didn’t.” 

“Ah,” she said with a smile, “well, it gets cold here at night. Why don’t you and your friend come back with me to our ship? Some of the other passengers have made a fire and we’ve got hot food and something a bit stronger than what you’ve probably got in that canteen. I promise you, it’s a far better way to spend the night than standing out here.”

Even to Bodhi this offer sounded suspicious. “Thanks, but we’re fine,” he said in what he hoped was a confident tone. Meanwhile, he was trying to remember where he’d put the blaster Tonc had given him.

“I’m sure you are, but there’s nothing wrong with being friendly.” Elle took another step forward. “Just a couple of drinks - what harm could it do?”

“We’re not interested.” Bodhi turned at the sound of Cassian’s voice to see him leaning against the side of the vessel’s open airlock. He was silhouetted in the light from the cabin so that his face was hidden, but Bodhi could see that he had one hand behind his back. “Thanks for the offer, anyway,” Cassian continued, sounding surprisingly relaxed and casual. 

Elle shrugged. “Another time perhaps?” She smiled again before retracing her steps back to the path. Bodhi noticed that she did so without ever turning her back to them.

Tonc grabbed Bodhi’s arm and pulled him to the opposite side of the ramp so that they were standing directly beneath Cassian. “Trouble?” he asked the spy in a whisper.

“Definitely. There was a second one watching from the trees.” Cassian made a grunting noise as he shifted. Bodhi was astonished he was able to stand at all. “We should retract the ramp and close up the ship, just in case. It’ll make it a little easier to defend if it comes to that.”

Tonc and Bodhi hurried up the ramp. Once they were both clear, Tonc hit the door control. Cassian remained standing until the hatch was completely closed. Bodhi could see the blaster concealed behind his back now. After the door was sealed, Cassian tried to turn but his leg buckled underneath him. Bodhi and Tonc both rushed to catch him before he fell. 

“What about Jyn and Danva?” Bodhi asked worriedly, as they helped him back to the cot.

Cassian collapsed with a groan of pain before steadying himself. “They should be at Maz’s place by now, so we can call them to let them know. Hopefully they’re close to making contact.”

Bodhi hurried to the pack with his tools and ferreted out the blaster he’d been given. It looked like he might need it after all. 


	7. A Mutual Understanding

“Eat first. Business after,” Maz insisted. 

Jyn looked at the food she’d brought and weighed the odds that the cantina owner was trying to poison them. While it was certainly possible, she decided there were plenty of other ways for the woman to kill them that required far less effort. She suspected some of Maz’s smuggler clientele would have done it for free and without a second thought. Besides Jyn hadn’t eaten anything since Yavin IV so, with a shrug, she dug in. After a moment, Danva joined her. 

Maz sat opposite the two woman and silently studied them while they ate. Finally, she leaned forward. “So, what can I do for Alliance Intelligence?” she asked archly.

Chewing leisurely, Jyn glanced up nonplussed. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Danva slowly lower the cup of caf she was drinking. Otherwise she too was stone-faced. “We’re not Alliance Intelligence,” Jyn said at last.

Maz snorted. “No, of course you’re not. You,” she pointed at Danva, “are definitely Alliance though. Special Forces maybe? And you,” she looked at Jyn and adjusted the magnification on her glasses, “aren’t. You’re rebellion but not Rebel Alliance and,” she squinted, “you remind me of someone…” 

Jyn gave Maz her blankest look. If the barkeep was trying to con information out of her, she’d have to do better than that. 

“Saw Gerrera,” Maz said with a hint of surprise. “That’s who you’re remind me of. It’s odd. I haven’t thought about him in years.”

“Saw who?” Jyn asked, but her voice faltered slightly. Saw would’ve been disappointed in her for that momentary weakness. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, along with her anger, grief, and a nearly overwhelming desire to ask Maz how she knew him.

“Hmmm,” Maz said noncommittally, but her eyes sparkled with understanding as if she could read Jyn’s mind. “Your friend - Dareth Casmel, Captain Andor - is Alliance Intelligence, so I assume they must be behind your being here somehow. I don’t care for them very much, but they serve a purpose-”

“Our friend,” Danva interjected, “wants to know if you can get us transportation off world or access to a communications array. And if you can’t, he thought you could put us in touch with some friends of his who might.”

“Yes, and I can guess who he meant,” Maz said with a mirthless chuckle. “I have a ship, but it’s not for sale and I’m not loaning it to you.” Jyn started to speak but Maz shot her a look. “No. If you take it, I’ll never see it again and I have work of my own for it to do. I won’t risk it, and if your captain thought I would, then he counts too much on my good will.”

Or he’s desperate, thought Jyn. She saw a momentary glimmer in Maz’s eyes and almost wondered if she’d accidentally said the words out loud. “What about communications?” she asked.

“Some of the ships around here might have something to suit your needs, but it would cost you more than you’ve brought to barter with and they’d insist on payment up front.” Maz gestured casually with her hands. “You’d also need to be careful. Some of them would let you use the equipment and then sell the message and receiving coordinates to the Empire for an even higher fee.” She shrugged. “That’s the risk you take with smugglers.”

“And our captain’s other friends?”

“Scynata.” Maz sneered the name with obvious distaste. “She’s around. I can send word that you want a meeting, but after that it’s up to you.” She studied them both again. “They’ve past history, those two - Scynata and your captain. But you? You won’t mean anything to her and she isn’t someone to do things out of a charity of spirit. So why did he send you rather than come himself?”

“He had his reasons,” Danva replied blandly. 

Maz ignored her and scrutinized Jyn’s face instead. “He’s not here because he can’t come,” Maz murmured - it was a statement not a question. “How badly is he injured? Is he dying? Dead?” 

Jyn remained silent as she held the cantina owner’s gaze, but she couldn’t stop her fears from surfacing again, threatening to overwhelm all her other thoughts. Jyn saw a similar concern in Maz’s eyes and wondered how the woman had known about Cassian’s injuries. “You read minds,” Jyn stated on impulse. It was a guess, but she said it as if it were a certainty. Leaning in, she towered over the smaller woman and grinned viciously. “That’s interesting. I wonder what the Empire would do to someone like you?”

“Don’t try it, child.” Maz looked at her with disappointment but no anger. She gestured toward the crowd behind her. “I deal with this lot every day. You can’t intimidate me. And I don’t read minds. I read faces and eyes. The Force can reveal many hidden things,” she glanced briefly at Jyn’s neck, “like that necklace you’re wearing. Kyber crystal? From Jedha?”

Jyn curled her hands into fists to stop herself from reaching toward her necklace. She knew it wasn’t visible - she’d spent so many years hiding it from view that the instinct was practically automatic now. She remembered the moment she’d met Chirrut and had a similar conversation. “What are you? Jedi? Guardian of the Whills?”

“Neither,” Maz said with a grin, which faded quickly. “You could sell it. It might buy you a ship and the means to send a message, if you truly are desperate.” 

Jyn frowned. The crystal was her last, tangible link to her mother. More than that, it was one of the few constants in her life since her childhood. Places changed, people left her, but the Kyber crystal was always there as a source of comfort. It was as much hers now as it had ever been her mother’s and it was practically all that she owned. But if she had to choose between it or Cassian? If selling it meant a chance to make sure Bodhi, Danva, and Tonc were safe?

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Danva said, forcing Jyn’s focus back to the here and now. “Will you contact Scynata for us? It’s a rather pressing matter.”

Maz nodded. “I will, and perhaps I can offer more than that. I may be able to find medical care for your friend.” She looked at Jyn again. “And for you too.”

“How much will that cost us?” Jyn sneered. She knew she should be more polite but the idea of selling her necklace had soured her mood and her temper was suddenly short.

“I’ll put it on your tab.” Maz’s lips curved up into a slight smile.

“And you always collect your debts,” Jyn replied, coldly. “Is that why you’re helping us? So you can collect Cassian’s debts?”

“I would gladly take what he owes me, yes. But I also sense that you and your companions have done a great deal of damage to the Empire quite recently. I’d help you based on that alone.” Maz clasped her hands together and looked past Jyn’s shoulder, as if she were remembering something. “Plus, Captain Andor has great potential. It’s a shame both he and the Alliance seem determined to exhaust it as quickly as possible. As they used to say in my childhood: he burns the candle at both ends. It’s an obscene waste, even in these dark days. Force willing, he’ll come to his senses…” Maz shrugged, and looked at Jyn again. “I suppose, in the end, I just like him.”

Jyn stared at Maz suspiciously. She agreed with much of what the woman had said, but could they trust her? What choice did they really have? None, Jyn conceded at last and, as Danva had reminded her, time was short. “Do what you can…please,” she added grudgingly.

Maz gave Jyn another small smile. “Wait here. I’ll be as quick as I can.” And with that she hopped off her chair and hurried back into the crowded chaos of the cantina. 

Jyn realized with a start how unaware of her surroundings she had been - the room and the people in it had seemed to fade into insignificance during their discussion with Maz. Now she was keenly aware of the noise and bustle, of the many faces peering at them occasionally from around the room. Such a lapse of wariness could prove fatal in a place like this, she chided herself.

“This necklace?” Danva asked cautiously, her eyes focused on her cup. “I take it it’s important to you?”

“What makes you say that?” 

Danva laughed ruefully. “Because you looked about ready to shoot her on the spot for suggesting you sell it.” 

Jyn huffed slightly, embarrassed to be so easily read. “I will if I have to, but I’d rather not.”

“Understood-” Danva was interrupted by the chirping of Jyn’s comlink. 

Jyn hurried to tug it out of her jacket. “Yes?” she hissed into the comm, not bothering with any greetings.

“It’s Tonc. We’ve had visitors.”

“Visitors?” Jyn frowned. “What kind of visitors?”

They heard the rustling sound of the comm being passed and then Cassian’s voice. “Two people, a woman and a man I think, tried to lure Bodhi and Tonc away from the ship. They left when they saw there were three of us.” He sounded desperately weary.

“Imperial?” Jyn asked.

“Or just thieves? It’s impossible to say, but we’ve closed up the ship to be safe. If you head back, you’ll need to call so we can let you in.”

“Got it.” Jyn exchanged a worried look with Danva who took the comm. 

“We just talked with Maz. She’s going to contact Scynata for us and see if she can get medical attention for you and Jyn.” 

“That’s…surprising. The offer of medical care, I mean.” Cassian paused for a moment. “Did she say why she was willing to do that?”

Jyn took the comm back. “Your charming personality, evidently.” 

Cassian’s chuckle at her sarcasm dissolved into a series of pained coughs. “Let me know when Scynata gets there,” he said, his voice strained. 

“We will. Now stop wasting your strength scaring off thieves and let Tonc and Bodhi handle things. How are the repairs coming?”

Again they heard the comm being passed. “I made some headway,” Bodhi answered. “But I ran out of daylight. Cassian wants me to work on something in the cockpit but, after that, I’m going to see what I can do inside.”

“Right. Call us if anything changes on your end, okay?”

There was a pause as if Bodhi was looking for confirmation from Tonc and Cassian before replying. “Yes, yes we will. Be careful, Jyn.”

“Aren’t I always?” And with that, she cut off the call. 

Jyn slipped the comlink back in her jacket with a sigh. “I guess there’s nothing to do now but wait.” She only hoped it wouldn’t be for long.


	8. Nerves

“Be careful, Jyn.”

“Aren’t I always?” she replied and then the com signal cut off. 

No, you aren’t, Bodhi thought as he handed the comlink back to Tonc. You’re never careful and your recklessness seems to be rubbing off on other people. He turned to frown at Cassian. “This is a bad idea.”

“It’s necessary, Bodhi.” Cassian was struggling to keep his eyes open but he was adamant on this point. “If the ship is captured, we need to make sure that the navi systems are wiped. We can’t let anyone know where Base One is located.” 

“I get that, but how are we going to get back if we erase the nav?”

“I think the Captain’s point is,” Tonc interjected calmly, “that if we have to erase the navigation records then we won’t be getting back…at least not on this ship.” While he know Tonc was only trying to help, his tone was a bit too patronizing for Bodhi’s taste.

“I can fix the ship!” Bodhi yelled, losing his temper. “Why won’t anyone believe that I can do it?”

“I believe you,” Cassian insisted. “No one is questioning your abilities. But you said it yourself, it’s going to take time to make repairs and while we’re grounded anything can happen. Imperials or smugglers or anyone else could attack the shuttle and kill or incapacitate all of us. If that happens, then need to make sure the shuttle’s data is destroyed. It’s a precaution, not a lack of trust in you.”

Bodhi ran his hands over his hair and took a few breaths to calm himself. “Yeah, okay. Sorry. Sorry, Cassian.”

“No, I’m sorry. You’re exhausted, we’re all exhausted, and I’m asking you to keep on working.” Cassian struggled to change the position of his splinted leg and grimaced. “Look, I’d do the work myself if I could-“

“You couldn’t make it up the ladder and besides, you shouldn’t be moving.” And if I sat by while you further injured yourself, Bodhi thought, Jyn would kill me. He reached down to grab his tool bag. “Jyn’s right, let us take care of things. Save your strength for that call with this Scynata person.” 

Cassian nodded tiredly. “If you run into problems with the navigation systems-“

“I know where to find you.” Bodhi shouldered the bag and turned to Tonc. “You coming?”

——

Tonc looked around the cabin of the stolen Imperial cargo ship. It was crowded with SpecForce soldiers, some talking amongst themselves, others prepping gear, and a few staring at nothing, lost in their own thoughts. He knew almost none of these men and women. He’d worked with Melshi’s team once, providing ground support for an extraction, and he’d seen Captain Andor give a few briefings; but based on the looks they’d given him when they caught him eavesdropping in the corridor on Yavin, he doubted either man remembered him. Yet he was prepared to fight and die with these people even if he didn’t know most of their names, even if none of them knew his.

While he didn’t regret volunteering, he still felt out of place. 

Then there were the other strangers in the crowd, like the two Guardians of the Whills. The larger one, Baze Malbus, was methodically checking the generator that powered his cannon. Beside him sat the smaller man - Chirrut Îmwe, someone had called him. He was praying quietly and the words of his prayer drifted in and out of the low murmur of conversation in the cabin. Tonc noticed Captain Andor and Jyn Erso standing close together near the ladder to the cockpit, talking in hushed tones. They startled slightly, stepping apart to make room as the Imperial defector - the pilot, Bodhi Rook - came down the ladder. He said something to them both and then moved to sit awkwardly near the edge of the crowd. Tonc watched as the pilot repeatedly brushed his palms down his thighs in a nervous gesture. 

Bodhi Rook looked how Tonc felt and that made him feel slightly more comfortable, more like he belonged. It also gave him something to do.

“Mind if I sit here?” Tonc asked, as he moved to sit beside Bodhi.

“No, no…of course not,” Bodhi mumbled quietly, sliding over to make room.

“Stordan Tonc,” Tonc said, offering his hand to Bodhi, who took it after a moment’s hesitation. 

“Bodhi Rook,” the smaller man said as he gave Tonc’s hand a brief shake before hurriedly letting it go.

Yes, I know who you are, Tonc thought with a smile. Everyone here knows who you are. But there were plenty of things that Tonc didn’t know about the man who had help make this mission possible. And with nothing better to do for the next few hours, he decided to find out some of them. 

“So, Bodhi,” he began, giving the man his shrewdest look, “have you had any combat experience?” 

——

“You’re awfully quiet.” 

Tonc looked down to find Bodhi studying him. The pilot was laying on his back underneath the shuttle’s main control console. When he noticed Tonc returning his gaze, he quickly turned his attention back to his work.

“Just thinking…about the conversation we had on the way to Scarif.”

Bodhi snorted and continued rewiring a small device into the system. “Conversation? As I remember, it was more like an interrogation.”

Tonc’s eyes twinkled slightly as he leaned back in the co-pilot’s seat. “I just wanted to evaluate your fitness for the mission.”

“You mean you were bored so you started asking questions.” Bodhi glanced up. “I’m not complaining, in fact I’m grateful. You helped keep my mind off things until I actually had something to do.”

“Yes, that was part of the point too.” Tonc surveyed what he could see of the surrounding forest from the shuttle’s forward view screen. Everything looked quiet and still. “Do you need me to take your mind off things again?” 

“No,” Bodhi said hastily. “I’m just making conversation.”

“You’re worried about Jyn and Cassian.” 

“I’m worried about all of us.” Bodhi shrugged slightly. “But yes. I’m not sure Cassian is thinking clearly. I mean, who could blame him with what he’s been through. Jyn is…well, Jyn is Jyn. She’s someone who’s direct and reckless and she’s in a situation that will require tact. And she’s injured which, if I know anything about her, will not improve her mood or make her more cautious. So yes, I’m worried.” He pushed the device underneath a section of console to hide it and climbed to his feet. “But this, at least, is done.”

“Good. So how does it work?”

Bodhi pulled a small box out of his pocket. “This,” he said, handing it to Tonc, “is a remote control. I cobbled it together from some components I scrounged from the communications system. It will trigger the device I just installed to send an overload through the navigation system - should fry the whole thing and erase the memory files.”

“Huh.” Tonc turned the box over gingerly; he didn’t want to accidentally set it off. “How far is the range on the signal?”

Bodhi made a face and shrugged. “Hard to say without being able to test it, but anywhere in the ship or immediately around it should be fine. It wouldn’t work from the castle, say. In fact, I wouldn’t lay odds on having it work much past the beginning of the path into the woods.”

“Hopefully that’s all we’ll need.” 

Suddenly their comms squawked with static followed by the sound of voices talking, but the message was garbled. Bodhi reacted first, snatching his comlink off the control console and speaking hurriedly into it. “Jyn? Danva? It’s Bodhi. Repeat please? We couldn’t understand your last message.”

Again they heard the sound of voices over the comm but the static was too strong for them to make out who was speaking or anything they were saying.

“Maybe we should see if Captain Andor has any ideas?” Tonc proposed.

Bodhi was moving even before Tonc had finished his suggestion. The soldier followed right behind him, down the ladder and back into the shuttle’s cabin.

“Cassian?” Bodhi asked, walking quickly toward the spy. Tonc noticed something odd about the man’s body language - his head was slumped forward, his hands limp in his lap. “Cassian?” Bodhi’s voice was louder now and it held an edge of panic. He reached out to touch the Captain’s arm lightly, but Cassian didn’t stir. 

Tonc joined Bodhi and knelt beside the cot. As Bodhi shook the spy gently, Tonc pushed Cassian’s head back. The man’s eyes were closed, his forehead was burning up, and he was completely unresponsive to either of their efforts to wake him.

“He’s got a fever,” Tonc observed, moving his hand down to the Captain’s neck. “I’ve found a pulse. It’s just…really slow.”

“Cassian?” Bodhi repeated, pleading now as he moved his hand to the man’s shoulder and shook him again. “Come on, Cassian. Please wake up!” 


	9. Complications

After an hour or more had passed without any sign of Maz nor Scynata, Jyn began to get antsy. For a while she drummed her fingers against the table, tapping out a particularly complex rhythm. Then she amused herself by thinking of ways to incapacitate each person in the cantina, but even that couldn’t hold her attention for long. 

“Calm down,” Danva said after Jyn started bouncing her uninjured leg. “Every moment we sit here gives that bacta patch Maz gave you more time to work on your injuries.”

“It also increases the chances that everything will go wrong, either here or back at the ship.”

“You could call them, just to see how they’re doing,” Danva observed nonchalantly. 

Jyn considered the idea briefly. She could give them an update, but then what? Bodhi and Tonc had work to do, they didn’t need constant interruptions that gave them no new information. And Cassian? Jyn sighed. Part of her wanted nothing more than to hear his voice, just to confirm that he was still okay. Another part mocked that impulse as a sign of weakness - weakness that Cassian, Danva, and everyone else, would spot instantly. 

“No,” she answered at last. “I’ll call them when we have something to report.”

“Suit yourself.” Danva traced her finger around the rim of her cup as Jyn took a sip out of her own. “So, how long have you known the Captain?” 

Jyn struggled not to choke on her caf before turning to glare at the other woman. “What?”

“We’ll be a lot less conspicuous if we talk, so I’m making conversation. How long have you known him,” Danva grinned sidelong at Jyn, “our Captain Casmel?”

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

“Yes, why not?”

Because surely everyone who was on the Alliance base knows the answer, Jyn thought. Then she shrugged, acting as if the question made no difference to her. “We met right before…we went to find our pilot.” It was probably better not to mention Jedha in public, if they could help it. “A couple of days, I guess? Why?”

It was Danva’s turn to shrug. “You two seem to know each other pretty well, so just I wondered if you’d met before. I’ve worked with him occasionally over the last few years and, as far as I know, he’s not close to anyone. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a complete professional and great to have on a mission. But he rarely smiles and he never laughs unless it’s required as part of his cover. In fact, he’s done more of both in the last few days than I think I’ve ever seen from him before, in any setting. That’s kind of amazing, given what we’ve been doing, don’t you think? So I just wondered if that was due to you being around?”

Jyn stared at Danva. Her face was blank and her eyes were cold, almost daring the woman to keep on speaking. 

The soldier seemed completely unperturbed. “Then there’s the fact,” Danva continued cheerfully, “that whenever you’re both in the same general area you gravitate toward each other. It’s like watching two magnets being drawn together across a room in slow motion. And, at times, you both completely ignore everything and everyone except for each other. The rest of the galaxy might as well not exist when you’re talking together. That just seems pretty intense for two people who’ve only known each other for a few days.” 

Jyn narrowed her eyes further. Danva’s grin widened in response.

“Of course, I could be mistaken,” she added and turned away. “Maybe you’re just a couple of strangers thrown together by chance.” Her face was serious now but Jyn could hear the teasing in her tone. 

She knew what Danva was trying to do - razzing her to defuse the tension of their situation. Saw’s rebels had done the same before raids, so had Jyn for that matter. But she’d also pointed out something Jyn had noticed: the changes in Cassian’s behavior. Jyn had assumed they weren’t actually changes - that everything they’d gone through together had just made it easier for her to see through the front he put up, his emotionless spy face. But if other people noticed him acting differently too then maybe it wasn’t just that? As for the rest - her feelings for Cassian and his for her - well she wasn’t about to discuss that with Danva. It was a topic she barely wanted to think about herself.

“It’s been an eventful few days,” Jyn replied in what even she had to admit was a colossal understatement. 

Danva chuckled darkly. “It has been that.”

They saw movement in the crowd - three people were following Maz as she walked in their direction. It was difficult to tell much about the newcomers from a distance, they were too heavily shrouded and armored to identify their gender or species. But both Jyn and Danva could easily guess who they were. 

“Showtime,” Danva sighed. She put down her cup and casually slid her other hand under the table to make sure her blaster was within easy reach. “You ready for this?”

“Yes.” Jyn smiled grimly. And if not, she thought, it was too late to come up with a new plan now.

Maz nodded at them as the group approached. “These are Captain Casmel’s friends,” with a smirk she indicated the group following her, “and his other friends. I’ll leave you to it now, but just make sure that none of you forget my rules.” She turned to glare up at the smaller of the three strangers. “No more exceptions. Understood?” 

The person she was speaking to chuckled before replying, “We’ll do our best to keep our…disagreements out of your establishment, Lady of the House.” The voice was low and husky but definitely female. 

Maz seemed satisfied by her response. She turned back to Jyn and Danva. “I’m looking into that other matter for you. I should have an answer in an hour or two.”

Jyn nodded her thanks as Maz turned to leave. If they could get medical care for Cassian, then all their other problems would become easier to manage. 

Once the cantina owner was gone, the cloaked woman sat across the table from them. As she slowly unwound a scarf from around her head and shoulders, Jyn was surprised to find that she wasn’t much older than Cassian, although her dark hair was streaked with premature grey. She had a long scar across her left cheek that looked as though it had been made by a knife. When the woman took off her gloves Jyn saw other scars, burns caused by gripping blasters grown hot by repeated firing. Jyn was very familiar with these types of wounds, she’d seen them often enough with Saw’s partisans. The other two strangers stood behind their leader’s chair, hands resting lightly on weapons slung low across their chests and shoulders. 

“You wanted to talk to me? So talk,” the woman said coldly, breaking the silence between them. 

“You’re Scynata?” Jyn asked, seeking confirmation although she felt certain of the answer. 

“Yes, and you are?”

“Hallik.” She glanced at Danva who was staring down the two standing gunmen.

“Fisk,” Danva growled angrily. 

Scynata chuckled again, knowingly this time. She didn’t buy their fake names, Jyn guessed, but was willing to let them go unchallenged for the moment. Maybe she assumed they were Alliance Intelligence operatives for whom aliases were expected? 

“Now that we’re acquainted,” Scynata said with heavy sarcasm, “what do you want? Maz said something about a message from Casmel?” 

Jyn nodded. “We need transportation off world or a means to communicate with…our associates. He thought you could help us.” 

“Why isn’t he here to make the request in person?”

“He was injured on our last mission so he sent us instead.”

“And how do I know you’re from him? What proof do you have.”

Jyn paused, trying to remember the phrasing just as Cassian had told it to them. “He told us to remind you of what happened to Glave Marcus, the situation at Norvis Industries, and the Fifteen Days.” 

“Did he?” Scynata watched Jyn closely, searching her face for any hints of deception. “If I asked you to explain any one of those, I wonder if you could do it?”

“I know that the two of you met during the Fifteen Days, during the signing of the treaty that formed the Atrivis Resistance Group. And I know that you’re originally from Mantoonie.” 

The woman narrowed her eyes at that. “And the others? What do they mean?”

Jyn held Scynata’s gaze but said nothing. She forced herself to appear relaxed, calm, trustworthy, but irritation prickled at the back of her mind. Damn Cassian and his damn secrets. He’d get them all killed yet. 

Without warning, Scynata changed tactics. “Tell me about this mission our mutual friend was injured in. Would it have anything to do with the Imperial cargo vessel that landed nearby a few hours ago?” 

So she knew about that? Jyn couldn’t decide if this was a bad sign or a bit of luck. Feeling Danva stiffen slightly beside her, she leaned forward and nudged her shoulder as a silent caution. “It does actually. We had to steal it to escape.”

“And where did this happen?” 

“Wobani,” Jyn replied simply. 

“The prison? Why were you there?”

“Why do you need to know?” 

“You want our help? Then tell us about your mission.”

Part of the trick in selling a lie, Jyn knew, was not to give up information too quickly. “Again, why do you need to know?” 

“Because I don’t trust the Alliance and I’m still not sure you’re with them. If you tell me why you’re in this sector of space, perhaps you’ll change my mind.” 

Jyn sighed, although it was mostly for show. Scynata was reacting just as Cassian had predicted. “We were there to extract a rebel contact from a work crew,” she replied in feigned resignation. “The extraction was successful but we ran into complications while trying to escape. Our ship was discovered and destroyed, so we were forced to steal the Imperial shuttle. Several of us were wounded in the process, including Casmel.” 

“And your contact?”

“Killed in the fight for the shuttle.” 

Scynata made a tsking noise. “Sounds like a fragging disaster. I thought Casmel was a better soldier than that.” 

The insinuation irritated Jyn, despite the fact that the whole story was a fabricated. She let her feelings show in her face since, for once, they were actually useful. 

The anarchist grinned at her reaction. “Why are you on Takodana if your mission was on Wobani.” 

“The shuttle was damaged and we were forced to put down here.” Jyn folded her arms over her chest. “Which is why we need a ship or a means to contact the Alliance. Now, are you going to help us or are we both wasting each other’s time?” 

Scynata regarded them for a while before leaning toward Jyn. “You know what I think? I think you’re a couple of Arka’s spies.” The gunmen behind her gripped their weapons a little tighter in response to her words. 

“Who?” Danva asked before Jyn could do it. 

“Didn’t Andor tell you about her?” Scynata grinned casually, her expression and cheerful tone at odds with her words. “She’s an Imperial spy based in the Western Reaches. She almost blew his cover the last time that son of a bantha Draven sent him here.”

Jyn tensed at the use of Cassian’s real name and the mention of Draven. If Scynata truly believed they were Imperials, but was still willing to drop the pretenses and aliases, then she was planning on making sure that they were dead long before they could pass on any information. It was time to end this now. “We can prove we’re telling the truth.”

Scynata raised an eyebrow at that. “How?”

“By making a call to Cassian.” Jyn pulled her comlink from her jacket. Scynata’s hand instantly covered her own, forcing it and the comlink down against the table. Jyn didn’t struggle against her but she met the anarchist’s glare with one of her own.

“How do I know you’re not calling in backup or passing on a coded message?”

“You don’t,” Jyn replied grimly. “But Cassian said you two were close once. You kill us, he’s not going to be pleased.” Jyn leaned in, her eyes never leaving Scynata’s. “He’s there, on the ship. He did send us. Just talk to him and he’ll confirm what we’re saying.” 

They sat like that for a minute before Scynata relented, releasing Jyn’s hand and gesturing for her to make the call. 

Jyn resisted the urge to smile as she turned on the comm, but she felt elated. She could still salvage this, make sure it went more or less as they'd planned. “Cassian? We have an old friend who wants to speak to you.” She’d expected an immediate response, but all she heard was static. “Cassian? Come in please?” Her second call was also met by silence. 

“Problems?” Scynata’s mouth narrowed into thin line and the look in her eyes slowly shifted from suspicion to anger. Her gunmen shifted impatiently. 

It was too late for caution - if Scynata killed them here it wouldn’t matter whether she knew all their names or not. Jyn tried again, urgency creeping into her tone. “Cassian? Tonc? Bodhi? It’s Jyn. Please respond.” But still the only sound that came through the comm was the hiss and pop of signal interference. 

Jyn’s chest tightened and her pulse quickened. Panic threatening to overwhelm her senses, but she wrenched her focus away from her fears and back to the problem at hand. 

Danva leaned toward her. “Could the comlink be malfunctioning?” she asked quietly.

“I heard no signs of that when we spoke to them before.” Jyn searched for other possibilities and remembered what Tonc had said. “Visitors. They said there were people asking about the ship.” Jyn turned to Danva, suddenly certain that she’d guessed correctly. “They’re in trouble. We have to go. Now.”

As they both stood, the gunmen shifted their weapons, aiming them toward the two women without unslinging them. In the room behind them, most of the bar’s patrons seemed oblivious to the events happening at the table. 

Jyn gritted her teeth and loomed over Scynata. “Cassian is in danger. If you care about him at all, you have to let us help him.”

The woman leaned back in her chair, studying Jyn’s face again. For a while none of them moved. 

“Actually,” Scynata said at last, “I’ll do better than that. We’ll escort you to the ship.”

Jyn frowned. “That’s not necessary.” 

“I insist.” Scynata stood and pulled on her gloves. “We’ve got a transport that will take us there much faster than walking. And if Andor isn’t in the shuttle,” she shrugged, “well, we have plenty of experience handling Imperial spies.” The woman grinned viciously. “Now move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a sneaking suspicion that this will need to be tweaked later, but here have a very long chapter.


	10. Misdirection

It was a dream. Cassian knew it had to be a dream, although most of it seemed like memories.

He was nine years old and he was running in a sunken courtyard, part of the underground headquarters of the Fest Resistance Group. He and some other kids were making the most of the down-time between missions by playing a spirited game of bolo-ball. The majority were children of FRG fighters; one or two were orphans like him. Regardless, they were all already soldiers in the fight against the Empire. 

Cassian dropped out of the game when the adults entered the courtyard. There had been a feeling of anticipation around the base for days. Something in their movements, the way the grown-ups held themselves, told Cassian that whatever had been building was happening now. He drifted toward them slowly, hoping to overhear their conversation.

“…There’s about twenty to thirty enroute,” Nadia Madilor was saying. The sniper had recently started teaching him how to shoot, so Cassian knew her well. “They think more could’ve escaped off world before all hell broke out.”

The man she was talking to, Jarden Banab, nodded angrily. “That still means hundreds dead.” He spit out a curse against the Empire. “Most of the Liberators wiped out in a day too? I’ve got no love for them, but-”

“Yeah.” Madilor hesitated as if she wanted to say something else. Then she sighed. “Some of the kids survived. Travia thought we could take one or two of ours to try to smooth the way.” She caught sight of him lurking nearby, trying and failing to be inconspicuous. “Hey Cassian,” she called with a grin, “you fancy seeing a bit of history?”

He nodded, not really understanding what she meant. But by doing so, Cassian Andor became part of the FRG delegation to The Fifteen Days peace accords. 

The dream shifted. It was now thirty days into a process that was supposed to have taken half that time. The talks between between the FRG and the surviving members of the Mantoonie Liberators weren’t going well and Cassian was bored. The dimly lit corridors of the neutral site selected for the negotiations seemed endless. Sounds echoed in disturbing ways and abandoned equipment cast weird, nightmarish shadows. But he kept exploring the corridors anyway; it was better than watching the adults yell at each other. 

As he walked, Cassian heard hints of voices he knew didn’t belong in this time or place as the dream blended bits of his memories into a new narrative. Down one corridor he heard Bodhi say, “I’m the pilot. I’m the pilot!” He tried to follow the sound but found himself in a dead end, so he retraced his steps.

He reached a crossroad of corridors. “A planet killer,” Tivik whispered down the left-hand path. “That’s what he called it.” Cassian turned quickly and walked in the opposite direction. 

“Orders? When you know they’re wrong?” Jyn’s voice jeered. He faltered and noticed a door on his right. He heard a noise coming from beyond it that sounded more substantial than any of the others. Hesitantly, he pushed the door open. Inside he saw a dark-haired girl armed with a staff attacking a straw dummy made to look like a stormtrooper. She glanced up briefly, eyes drawn by his movement, then with an unimpressed shrug she went back to practicing. 

He remembered this moment. “They sent me to look for you,” he said, just as he’d said back then. “There’s food in the main room. Nadia’s been hunting so it’ll be more than just rations.” He didn’t expect a response. Glave Marcus hadn’t spoken to anyone in weeks. 

“Does that means they’re finally done talking?” the girl asked angrily, surprising him with both her reply and her ferocity. Her voice sounded rough, as if she’d recently been crying. 

“No.” Under his breath, he added, “Seems like they’ll never stop.”

“It’s stupid. They’re just wasting time when we should be out killing stormtroopers.” Glave glared at him, daring him to disagree with her.

But he didn’t, he just nodded quietly and waited. Glave’s parents had been killed during the Empire’s massacre of the Mantoonie rebels. Cassian suspected he knew exactly how she felt.

After a few minutes, she threw him another staff. “Bet you’re barely more of a challenge then this thing.”

Cassian grinned, determined to prove her wrong.

— —

Tonc found Cassian’s field jacket - discarded on the ship when he and Jyn had donned their Imperial disguises on Scarif - and wrapped it around the spy’s shoulders in an attempt to keep him warm. Then the two of them maneuvered him until he lay flat on the cot. 

“Cassian? Come on.” Bodhi tried again. “We need you. Jyn needs you. Please wake up.” He sat beside his unconscious friend and clutched one of his hands. Nearby Tonc searched in the medical bag for the device they’d seen Danva use earlier. “Do you know how to use it?” Bodhi asked worriedly.

“No,” Tonc replied, his expression grim, “but I can’t think of anything else to do, can you?”

Bodhi was saved from answering by a noise over their comms. The message was garbled, but below all the static he could make out the sound of a female voice. Bodhi grabbed his comlink and yelled into it. “Jyn? Danva? Come in! We need help!”

“Bodhi?” The signal was a little bit stronger now, but he still couldn’t make out who was speaking. Jyn maybe? “Tonc? Cassian? Anyone come in!”

“We’re here,” Bodhi said, a mix of panic and relief in his voice. “Cassian’s unresponsive, so whatever you’re going to do you need to do it quickly.”

The voice on the comlink spoke again but their words disappeared under a surge of static. Finally the signal cleared slightly, enough for them to hear the end of what was being said. “…We’re almost at the ship, Bodhi! You have to let us in!” 

Bodhi looked up at Tonc.

“It could be a trap,” the soldier replied hesitantly. “It might not even be them.”

"They know our names. How could they know our names if it isn’t them? We didn’t give those names to the woman we met earlier.”

“I don’t know. I just…have a bad feeling about this.”

“We can’t sit here and do nothing.” Bodhi took a deep breath. “Danva and Jyn will know what to do.” 

——

The dream changed. Now Cassian was kneeling in the sub-basement of a building. It had been three years since the rebel groups from Fest and Mantoonie - two worlds that had been at war for generations - had joined forces to fight the Empire. He heard the sound of blaster fire faintly in the distance as he placed the explosives against one of the building’s support struts. He thought of his friends - Farris, Tapin, and Vahn - up on the main level of the Norvis Industries weapons manufacturing plant. They were drawing fire as a distraction, anything to buy he and his partner time to finish their work in the building’s sub-levels. 

“Get a move on, Andor,” a voice hissed behind him. He felt Glave run past him on her way to her next target: a bundle of communications cables that branched out of the floor nearby. She quickly set the charge and moved on. 

Cassian ran after her, racing to the next strut and then the next - placing a small black device on each and turning the dial until the indicators blinked red. 

They moved quietly, efficiently, just like they’d been trained to do. Hunched over, they ran in a crouch as they avoided sensors and other automated security measures. At last, after all the bombs had been planted, they reached their exit: a small service shaft that had been left unlocked by a Norvis employee loyal to the Atrivis Resistance Group. 

“That looks…smaller than they said,” Cassian observed. 

“That’s why they sent us.” Glave flashed him a cheeky grin. He was twelve and she was fifteen and they were both small for their ages - the perfect size for climbing through forty feet of vertical ductwork. “Hope you’re not afraid of the dark, Andor,” she chided as she dove ahead and began to climb. 

Cassian jutted out his jaw in annoyance as he followed her.

They were only half-way to the surface when they heard the first explosion. Perhaps someone got antsy and set them off early but, whatever the reason, Cassian knew they’d never make it the rest of the way in time. He spotted a control panel twenty rungs above his head. “Keep going!” he yelled at Glave. For a moment the shaft turned into the data vault at Scarif - the rungs of the service ladder replaced by data tapes. Then everything shuddered back into place. 

Cassian could hear his heartbeat thundering in his ears as he climbed. When he reached a spot above the control panel, he wrapped his arms around the rung nearest his head and turned to face the side of the shaft. Some part of him registered that this wasn’t what had actually happened, but he wasn’t able to change the dream, only follow along where it led. Bracing himself on one leg he kicked out as much as he could in the confined space, smashing the controls. Security doors began closing, sealing parts of the service shaft and trapping the explosion behind them. He only hoped he hadn’t trapped himself as well. Wiping his sweating hands on his jacket, he began to climb again.

After what seemed like an eternity, Cassian fell out of an open hatch into a snow drift. “Come on!” Glave whispered nearby. She held out her hand to him but, as he reached out to take it, the snow drifts fell away into darkness.

Cassian was back at the underground base. It had changed little in the seven years since the accords were signed. He saw Glave striding ahead of him, her hands balled into fists, and ran to catch up with her.

“You look pissed. What gives?”

“I got yanked off a mission for some meeting with that kriffing Alliance bigwig.”

“General Draven?” Cassian frowned. “Me too. What is it? More training?” 

“We've already had three months of those SpecForce guys breathing down our necks, acting like we’ve got no idea what we’re doing…” 

Cassian sighed. He’d heard this rant before. “It’s part of the agreement, Glave.” 

“An agreement Travia shouldn’t have signed,” she scoffed. “The ARG doesn’t need to join the Alliance. We were doing fine on our own.”

They weren’t, though, not as far as Cassian could see and he’d been a rebel fighter for ten years now. The Alliance were better equipped, better trained, and they offered the chance to take the fight out of the Atrivis sector to other places where their efforts might make a bigger difference. But he kept that opinion to himself, he knew she wouldn’t agree. 

They reached a set of double-doors, which Glave pushed through impatiently without bothering to knock. In front of them, General Draven sat at a desk studying a datapad. “Ah,” he said, looking up. ”Cassian Andor and Glave Marcus.” He smiled but his eyes regarded them shrewdly. “I’ve heard good things about both of you. I’d like to discuss a few opportunities regarding your future with the Alliance.” He gestured toward two nearby chairs. “Shall we begin?”

——

They heard a banging sound on the outside, like someone knocking on the side of the ship near the hatchway. The comm in Bodhi’s hand buzzed again. 

“We’re here, Bodhi…we’re…” The words were lost again for a moment and then, “We need to see Cassian! Let us in! Quickly!” 

Tonc and Bodhi shared a look. “If you won’t open it, I will,” Bodhi said as he stood and began walking toward the door controls. 

“Wait,” Tonc stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I’ll do it. You go on the other side and cover me from there. Okay?” 

Bodhi nodded quickly, pulling the blaster from his uniform and moving to stand where Tonc indicated. He nervously checked to make sure the safety was off and pointed it in the direction of the door.

“Ready?” Tonc asked. He had one hand on his own weapon and the other on the door controls. 

“Ready.” 

Tonc flicked the controls and the door slowly began to open. As the forest came into view, Bodhi saw a group of people standing near the tree-line. One of them was a small, dark-haired woman with her hair up in a messy bun; she was standing with her back to the shuttle.

“Jyn!” he called, a relieved grin on his face as he leaned out to get her attention.

“Wait,” Tonc said, raising his blaster rifle. “Wasn’t she wearing a leg-brace?”

The woman moved slightly. Bodhi had just enough time to register the flashes of blaster fire from the trees before he felt a burning pain in his shoulder. He threw himself back against the side of the cabin, trying to take shelter. There was more blaster fire and then he heard Tonc cry out in pain.

“Set your blasters to stun!” a female voice yelled. “I can’t question dead men!” 

Clutching his shoulder, Bodhi looked across the cabin. Tonc knelt on the floor, one hand pressed against his side. The soldier struggled to his feet and reached toward the door controls, but was hit squarely in the chest by a distinctive blue circle of light. He instantly collapsed backwards and lay still.

Bodhi glanced over to the cot where Cassian lay unmoving, his eyes still closed. Bodhi knew it was up to him now, but he’d never be able to fight off their attackers from here. If he could reach the door controls or the cockpit…

The cockpit! Suddenly he remember the device Cassian had asked him to rig to the ship’s navigation systems. Fumbling in his pockets, Bodhi located the remote control. His finger slid over the triggering mechanism just as the stun blast hit him. 

——

He was back on Takodana. For a moment Cassian wasn’t sure if he was awake or still dreaming. Then he saw about a half-dozen armed men and women walking cautiously out of the forest toward him and he remembered. This had happened months before, while he was tracking down leads on the Empire’s new secret weapon.

He turned to his informant Jessa Deece, a smuggler who claimed he’d come across relevant data while stealing supplies from an Imperial base. “Who knew you were coming?” Cassian hissed angrily.

“Only my crew!” The man peered around the corner of the building. “You recognize them?”

“Imperials.” Cassian swore under this breath. They weren’t in uniform, but their movements gave them away as stormtroopers. He looked around. They couldn’t get into the trees on the other side of the village without being seen, so they’d be better off hiding in plain sight.

“Come on,” he growled as he gripped the smuggler by his jacket and dragged him back toward the cantina they’d just left. Cassian opened the door and Deece took the hint, walking casually into the bar as if they were just returning from having a private word. Cassian nudged the man toward a booth in the back of the room and forced himself to look relaxed. He ordered two drinks from the bar as they walked past, but a timer was running in his head. They had about five or ten minutes, depending on whether the Imperials came straight to the bar or searched other buildings first. Of course that assumed they were here for them at all, which might not be the case. But Cassian didn’t believe in coincidences. 

Five minutes after they’d settled into the booth with their drinks, the door opened. Four of the people he’d seen crossing the field entered the cantina. They were led by a woman with a scarf wrapped around her head and neck which concealed her face. Something about her seemed familiar to Cassian now although he didn’t remember thinking that at the time. 

The group prowled through the bar as if looking for a place to sit, but Cassian saw them searching the faces of people as they passed. They were definitely looking for someone. Cassian glanced at Deece, evaluating his body language to see whether this was some kind of a setup. For the most part, Deece kept his eyes focused on his drink but every once in a while he glanced up to study Cassian in return. He seemed uninterested in the movements of the Imperials, which reaffirmed Cassian’s paranoia. It was time for a distraction. He looked at a couple across the room and gave them a quick nod.

“Why you!” the woman yelled, slapping the man and pushing him into a nearby table. Two men tried to help him up but he swung at them, punching one in the stomach and catching the other with an elbow to the cheek. Almost immediately the whole room was involved in the bawl as bar patrons and staff either joined the fray or scrambled to leave as quickly as possible. 

Cassian pulled Deece out of his seat and steered him into the chaos. The pirate tried to turn and yell something, but Cassian shot him in the back, his silenced blaster inaudible over the sounds of the fight. The pirate fell to the floor and lay still among the upturned tables and chairs. Cassian kept on moving forward, his head low as he tried to avoid drawing attention to himself. He dodged between the combatants and nearly ran into a woman coming towards him. She grinned up at him and he recognized her an instant before she punched him in the face.

An hour later he was sitting in a private room in Maz Kanata’s castle nursing a bruised jaw and a sullen mood. "Was the sucker punch really necessary?"

"Had to make it look realistic when we dragged you out of there."

He glared at the woman who sat across from him. 

“You’re slipping, Andor,” Glave Marcus chided. She was older and battle worn, like him, and she was going by the name Scynata now, but she was still recognizable as his childhood friend. “Our people in the village say the Imperials were very interested in the late, unlamented Jessa Deece. They asked all sorts of questions around the cantina and the town about who he’d last been seen with. Either they got word of what he was peddling and followed him or he was a traitor paid to set you up.” 

“What did the Imperials find out? Do we know?”

“They got a rough description of you, but as far as we can tell your alias is still intact. Dareth Casmel can live to fight another day.” 

He grunted noncommittally. This whole trip had been a waste of time, another dead end.

“But it wasn’t a complete loss. One of the Imperials mentioned their leader’s name as they were inspecting Deece’s body.” Glave leaned forward. “They called her Arka and my people say she’s definitely not regular military or local militia.” 

That caught Cassian’s attention. He thought back to the woman with the scarf. “Imperial Intelligence?”

“That would be my guess.” Glave slapped him on his shoulder. “So cheer up! You’ve got a name of one of your opposite number and you’re not dead or being tortured. It could be worse. Plus,” she added as she went to get a drink, “you got to lose a fight to me…again. It’s practically like old times.”

——

The woman waited for the shuttle’s ramp to be extended before walking inside. Once there, she quickly surveyed the bodies laying around the ship. One was clearly a rebel soldier while another wore an Imperial flight suit. The two them being together on an Imperial cargo ship was reason enough for her to order the vessel taken, but they weren’t why she was here. She walked over to the man laying unconscious on the cot. She studied his wounds, especially the splint on his leg, and the rank insignia on his uniform jacket. Then, sitting beside him, she gently moved the hair out of his face to get a better look at his features.

“Cassian, I presume?” Arka Praji said with a grin. She’d dropped the accent she’d put on as Elle Wothar and was speaking the rounded tones of her native Coruscant. “Or should I call you Captain Casmel?” She turned to the local militia standing behind her. “Get them out of here and search the ship. I want to know what they’re carrying and where they’ve come from.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter to date and most of it is a dream/flashback. I'm sure that breaks some kind of law or general good taste.
> 
> [Background on the ARG](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Atrivis_Resistance_Group) and other rebel groups [comes from here](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Fest_Resistance_Group). Other things are just flat out made up.


	11. A Time for Patience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I'm back with a short chapter to (hopefully) get myself into the swing of writing this story again.

The banging of the ramp filtered slowly into Cassian’s consciousness. Then someone sat beside him and lightly brushed their fingers across his forehead. Jyn’s back, he thought vaguely, feeling addled but pleased.

The feeling didn’t last long.

“Cassian, I presume?” said a female voice he didn’t recognize. The woman’s accent oozed Imperial Coruscant and it took all of his training to lay still, to keep his breathing even and his eyes closed. “Or should I call you Captain Casmel?” The weight on the cot lifted and the woman’s voice moved further away, becoming indistinct as she issued orders to someone. 

Cassian risked opening his eyes a sliver and saw a group of men carrying the limp bodies of Bodhi and Tonc off the cargo ship. A women stood nearby watching them. With an impatient flick of her wrist she pulled off the band holding her hair in a messy bun and smoothed it back into a tight, orderly ponytail. He couldn’t see her face clearly but he recognized her all the same. Tonight she’d called herself Elle Wothar. Months ago she’d led a group of stormtroopers looking for Jessa Deece. 

Arka.

Cassian quickly closed his eyes and tried to force his jumbled thoughts into some sort of order. Were Tonc and Bodhi dead? If they weren’t now they soon would be once they were handed over to the regular Imperial forces. Where were Jyn and Danva? Had they been captured? Killed?

“Search them too,” the woman ordered. “And tell our spies back at the cantina to let me know instantly if there’s any change.” 

Cassian heard footsteps cross the decking of the ship and then the sound of someone climbing. He opened his eyes in time to see Arka disappear up the ladder to the cockpit. He was suddenly alone in the ship’s cabin. His eyes flicked toward the instrument panel where he’d hung his weapon, but the blaster was gone. Even if it weren’t, he wasn’t sure fighting his way off the ship would be possible. His body felt heavy and he had trouble maintaining focus, but he knew his time was running out. With a frustrated sigh, he looked down and noticed his field jacket slung loosely around his shoulders. Maybe he couldn’t help Bodhi, Jyn, and the others, but he knew his duty. He could at least make sure the Empire didn’t learn anything about the Alliance from him. 

As quietly and quickly as he could manage with what little strength he had left, he began inching his hand toward the transponder that hid his “lullaby” pill.

——

“We don’t have time for this,” Jyn yelled as she elbowed the rebel trying to relieve her of her blaster. She was rewarded with an answering jab to the ribs. 

Scynata had insisted on her people searching Jyn and Danva as soon as they stepped outside Maz’s cantina. They were hardly in any position to refuse, but Jyn resisted regardless. Danva suspected it was more out of stubbornness and habit than any expectation that she’d win.

“If the ship’s been taken, we’ll need our weapons to take it back.” Jyn hissed through gritted teeth as the soldier disarmed her. “We’re on your side!”

“You have nothing to worry about then, do you?” Scynata replied. “We’ll go to the ship together and if everything is as you say, we’ll put your weapons to good use. Besides, the two of you look like you wouldn’t stand up to a strong wind-”

“Try me,” Jyn sneered.

“Jyn.“ Danva put a restraining hand on her arm. “We don’t have time, remember?”

“That’s right, we’re in a hurry.” Scynata gave them a cold smile as she watched as her soldiers bind Danva and Jyn’s hands. “Luckily, we have a landspeeder parked beyond the castle. We’ll be at your ship in no time. You really should be thanking us.” She nodded to her soldiers. “Bring them.”

The guards pushed Jyn and Danva forward. Jyn stumbled slightly but Danva reached out to steady her. “How’s the knee,” she asked as they were pulled apart and hurried through the courtyard. 

“It’s fine,” Jyn retorted, but she was still noticeably limping. 

“Remember what I said in the cantina about every moment of rest?” Danva exchanged a look with Jyn and hoped her meaning was clear. Escaping now, even if they could manage it, was counterproductive. Better to save their energy until they were back at the ship. “I get that you like to pick fights with everyone, but we can’t help them if we’re dead. So no unnecessary heroics, okay?”

Jyn snorted. “Heroics? That doesn’t sound like me at all.” 

Danva saw the worry hidden behind her defiance. “Right. Can’t imagine who I was thinking of.” The guards prodded them roughly and they continued in silence. 

Once they’d cleared the castle, Scynata led them down a trail that branched off the main path. As they approached the tree-line of the forest, she paused and whistled quietly. A moment later a response came from a nearby hillock and a heavily armed woman stepped out from her hiding place. 

“Report?”

“I lost contact with Pash and Avier,” the woman said. “I’ve tried calling them but all I get is static.”

Scynata glanced back at Jyn and Danva. “Could it be a broad frequency jamming device?”

“Quite possibly-”

“See,” Jyn called triumphantly from behind her, “we’re telling you the truth.” 

“Quiet!” Scynata ordered. “Anything else, Osllon?”

“Whatever it is, it’s not effecting communication around the castle. Varinos and Antares just reported in without any signal problems.”

“And what did they say?”

“You were followed out of the cantina-“

Scynata nodded as if she expected this. “How many?”

“Two. They’ve been dealt with. Quietly.”

“Good.” The rebel leader strode forward and the group followed her. “Were they Imperials?”

“No, but Antares recognized one of them as a suspected Imperial sympathizer.” Osllon jogged slightly to keep up. “Militia, at a guess. One of them tried to comm someone-”

“Tell Varinos that I want the comm the spies used brought to me. If it’s coded to allow communication through the jamming signal then it might be useful.” 

“Done.” Osllon stepped aside and began speaking quietly into her own comm. Jyn and Danva were hustled past her by their guards. 

“Now what?” Jyn snapped, ignoring Danva’s warning glare.

“We continue as planned.” Scynata stopped beside a landspeeder that was hidden behind bushes at the edge of the forest. “Although we may need to take a more indirect route since we seem to be expected.” She smiled. “But we’ll be ready for whatever we find there, don’t worry.” She nodded at the vehicle. “Get in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild spoilers below, skip if that's not your thing.
> 
> \---
> 
> So remember how I said I had all these detailed outlines? Well that was true until I got to this point in the story where my outline simply said: "Jyn and Danva shoot all the things."
> 
> As it turns out that's really not enough to go on. Would you believe it?
> 
> Between that and a bit of writer's block this chapter has been delayed far longer than I'd hoped. But it's here now, even if it's not what I was expecting or originally intended. Hopefully the next chapter(s) will be a lot easier to write.
> 
> Oh, and I was tempted to have that last line read: "Get in losers, we're going rebelling." But I figured that'd break the mood.


	12. A Time to Escape

Danva was waiting for her turn to leave the Imperial shuttle when Sefla pulled her aside.

“You’re staying here,” he said quietly. 

“I thought you needed most of us with the main group-“

“True.” He glanced past her and Danva followed his gaze to where Tonc was speaking with Bodhi. “But the kid’s new. We need people with experience to watch the ship-“

“Mefran and a few of the others are staying-“

“…and I want someone I trust to watch the pilot.”

Danva blinked in surprise. “You think this is a trap?”

“No, I think we’re about to start killing the people whose side he was on not long ago. I just…wanna make sure he doesn’t have a change of heart.” Then he grinned at her. “Plus, I need this tub to still be here to get us back to base once everything’s done.”

“Thought you said this was a suicide mission?”

Sefla shrugged. “There’s also my bottle of whiskey to consider. I wouldn’t leave it with this scruffy lot.” 

Danva snorted a laugh, because she knew he wasn’t serious. “Okay, I guess I’m staying. 

Sefla grinned again and held out his hand to her. Danva grasped it tightly. They stood together for a moment in companionable silence. Then Selfa joined the others waiting at the ship’s lower hatch. 

Danva watched him follow the two Guardians down through the hatch and out into the bright sun of Scarif. Once all of the rebel soldiers were clear of the cargo vessel and running toward the relative safety of the trees, she went to find Tonc and the pilot. 

——

Bodhi woke face down in the grass with a dull ache in his chest and a burning pain in his shoulder. For a moment he couldn’t remember what had happened, but when he tried to move he realized his wrists were shackled beneath him. Opening his eyes in panicked confusion, he turned his head and found himself staring into Tonc’s worried face. The rebel soldier was laying beside him, their shoulders almost touching.

“What-“ Bodhi began. 

“Quiet you,” said a voice above him. 

Bodhi tried to see who was talking but froze when he felt a boot on his back and a blaster rifle against his head.

“No talking. No moving. Got it…traitor?”

“Y-yes-” Bodhi stammered but the sound turned into a yelp as the boot shifted to put weight against his wounded shoulder. 

“Get off him.” Tonc struggled to get up, but the militia member swung the blaster in his direction, using it to force Tonc’s head back against the ground. All the while, he increased the pressure on Bodhi’s shoulder until the pilot was gasping in pain. 

“What did I say about talking, rebel scum?” the man sneered at them. 

“Enough Marnath!” called another voice. “We’ve got work to do.”

The pain eased as the man removed his foot from Bodhi’s shoulder. Then Marnath took a few steps away from the captured rebels. “Come on, Navah,” he replied, sounding annoyed. “Ruellis and the other are searching the ship. Praji is doing…whatever it is she does-”

“And we’ve another rebel to search.”

“That one? He looks half dead. Might as well strip him and dump him in the lake.”

Bodhi struggled to remember who could be left on the ship. Then it all came back to him - the ambush and Cassian!

“Praji says he’s important-“ Navah paused, and when he spoke again he sounded concerned. “Wait, did he just move?”

“So he’s awake? So what?”

“So the bastard’s got something in his hand!”

Bodhi heard running and rolled onto his side in time to see the two Imperials sprinting up the cargo ship ramp. Seconds later he heard the sounds of a struggle inside the shuttle, although he couldn’t see what was going on from where he lay. 

“Oh.” Tonc said quietly, as if he’d suddenly remembered something. Bodhi turned to see the soldier using his elbow to leverage himself into a sitting position. He was favoring his left side and breathing heavily.

“What is it?” 

Tonc glanced toward the ship in anguished frustration but didn’t answer Bodhi’s question. “Come on, we’ve got to go.” He grimaced as he got to his knees. “Can you stand?”

“I think so.” Bodhi struggled but finally managed to get to his feet. It hurt to move his right arm and he wondered idly how bad the blaster wound was. “What about Cassian?” 

Tonc wobbled slightly as he stood and Bodhi reached out to steady him. Tonc nodded his thanks but avoided meeting his eyes. “No time. We need to find help.”

“We can’t just leave him!”

“We’re unarmed and outnumbered. Any second they’ll notice we’re up-”

“But Cassian-“

“Didn’t you hear? They want him alive. The best thing we can do for him is to find the others and bring back help.” 

Bodhi stood still for a moment, utterly conflicted. He could hear a third voice in the ship now - a woman yelling orders. He looked around for anything he could use to help Cassian, but there was nothing.

“Bodhi!” Tonc hissed grabbing the pilot’s hands and pulling him insistently toward the path Danva and Jyn had used earlier. “Come on! Trust me.”

Giving the ship one last sorrowful look, Bodhi turned and ran with Tonc. 

——

Cassian heard the yelling as if from a great distance. One moment the pill was between his fingers, almost to his mouth, and the next it was skittering across the decking of the ship. He cried out and fought against the hands that tried to restrain him, but it made little difference. The noise of many voices blurred together and, after a few moments, he realized that they’d secured his hands and his feet. He was truly trapped. Slowly the cacophony of voices quieted enough for him to make out what was being said.

“What was that?” one voice asked. 

“I thought maybe he had a weapon but it was too small-“ observed another. 

“A lullaby.” Cassian turned his head and saw Arka bending down to pick the pill off the floor. She noticed him looking and smiled. “Trying to rob us of the opportunity to know you better, Cassian? I can call you that, can’t I? Or is there another name you’d prefer?”

Cassian didn’t answer. He turned away from her to stare at the cabin’s ceiling. He’d failed, but at least he could try to give her as little information as possible. 

He heard Arka chuckle. “No matter. We will have a long chat soon.” Her voice became cold as she issued orders to the Imperial militia members. “Search him. I don’t want any more surprises and-“ she paused. “Who is guarding the prisoners if you’re all here?” 

For a moment there was silence and then Cassian heard boots running down the ship’s ramp.

“You let them escape? Idiots!” Arka paced furiously in front of the main hatch for a moment. “Marneth and Navah, get after them! And I want them alive, just in case our friend here tries to be difficult. Go!”

Cassian felt giddy with relief. Tonc and Bodhi were alive and free! With luck, they’d find Danva and Jyn and they’d all escape back to the Rebel Alliance. It wasn’t how he’d wanted it, but it was enough. 

He relaxed against his restraints and smiled.

——

“Do you have your comm?”

“No, they must have taken it. You?”

“No,” Tonc answered breathlessly as he ran. He led the way down the path, occasionally glancing back to make sure Bodhi was still with him. “Do you remember the way to the castle?

“I remember the general direction. We…seem to be heading that way.” 

“How far was it?”

“I’m not sure-“ Tonc leaned against a tree and Bodhi backtracked to stand beside him. “Are you okay?”

“This isn’t going to work.” Tonc put his hand against his side and wondered how bad the wound was. He wasn’t dead yet, so that was something. He heard the sounds of pursuit behind them growing louder. “And they’re going to catch up with us soon anyway.” He gave Bodhi an appraising look. “Hide.”

“What?” 

“Just hide! Over there.“ Tonc pushed Bodhi toward a clump of bushes a few feet from the left side of the path. Searching the other side for cover, he spotted a steep embankment that led down to a shallow ravine. He stumbled in that direction, slipping on the loose soil and rocky outcroppings as he went. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bodhi disappear behind the bushes, then Tonc ducked out of view. 

Struggling to quiet his breathing, he glanced up the embankment. He couldn’t see the path from here, which he hoped meant he was concealed enough. As he waited, he considered what could happen next.

Option one: if the Imperials ran past them, then he and Bodhi would have to find another way to cantina. 

Option two: if the Imperials spotted them, they’d probably be recaptured. He'd have failed both Cassian and Bodhi…again. He tightened his jaw. He couldn’t allow that. 

Option three: they could try to ambush their pursuers as they passed. Both of his and Bodhi's hands were still shackled, which would make it difficult, and he had no way to communicate the idea to Bodhi. 

Option four…

Suddenly, Tonc heard footsteps above him. He pressed himself against the side of the ravine and silently asked the Force for a lucky break. For a moment it seemed as if his prayer had been answered - the footsteps continued down the path. But then they stopped. 

“What is it,” asked a gruff voice. Marnath, Tonc realized.

“No footprints,” replied another man - Navah this time. “They must have doubled back.”

“Or they’re hiding.” 

“Now where would they…ah-“ Tonc glanced up and saw the muzzle of a blaster rifle pointing at his head. Behind it, Navah grinned down at him. “Gotcha.”

Tonc sighed. Option 2 then? Well, he wasn’t done yet.

“Climb up, very slowly,” Navah instructed. “No sudden moves.” Tonc attempted to comply, but he kept sliding on the loose dirt of the ravine. “Come on, we don’t have all night.”

Tonc quirked an eyebrow at the Imperials. “You could give me a hand, if you’re in a hurry,” If he stalled long enough and kept their attention on him, maybe Bodhi could sneak away unseen. 

“Why don’t we just shoot him?” Marnath snarled.

“Orders are orders.” Navah frowned. “Get him up here, Marnath. Drag him if you have to. I’ll cover him.”

Marnath braced himself with one hand and reached out with the other to grabbed Tonc’s shackled hands. Then the militiaman began pulling him up toward the top of the embankment. Tonc was taller and heavier than the Imperial and Marnath struggled at the task. Tonc leaned back slightly, trying to slow their progress further without seeming to resist. All the while, he watched Marnath’s feet slide closer to the edge of the ravine. 

“Where’s your friend?” Navah asked as he watched them. 

“Left you here to face us alone?” Marnath grinned wickedly at Tonc who was almost level with him now. “He can’t be too far off. Maybe if he hears you screaming, he’ll come back to save you-”

“Orders-“ began Navah.

“She said alive. She didn’t say what condition they had to be in.” Now that Tonc was almost out of the ravine, Marnath moved the hand he’d used to brace himself to the knife at his belt. “Just give me a few minutes-“

“No!” Bodhi yelled, standing up from his hiding place with his hands out in front of him. Both Imperials startled and looked away from Tonc, which was just the lucky break he needed. 

He pushed Marneth backwards, unbalancing the militiaman. His feet slid off the edge of the embankment, his head thudding against a stone outcropping on the side of the ravine as he fell. Tonc kept his feet moving to avoid slipping backward and used his forward momentum to launch himself shoulder first into Navah’s abdomen. Both men went down in a heap - Tonc gritting his teeth as the impact radiated pain through the wound on his side. The rifle skittered across the ground and Tonc scrambled after it. He felt Navah grab his ankle just as his fingers brushed against the blaster’s grip. Pulling the weapon toward him, Tonc kicked out and rolled to face Navah. He saw the militiaman pulling out a blaster. Navah aimed the weapon at Tonc just as the rebel’s fingers found the rifle’s trigger. 

Tonc fired first. The Imperial froze for a second and then collapsed backward. 

“Are you okay?” Bodhi asked, hurrying over to help him up. 

Breathing heavily, Tonc leaned against both Bodhi and the rifle as he stood. He glanced at the pilot’s concerned expression and grinned. “Bit of everything, that was. Almost like we’d planned it.”

“Huh?”

“Doesn’t matter. See if you can find keys to these restraints. I need to check on the other one.” 

As Bodhi searched, Tonc stood on the edge of the ravine and looked down at Marneth’s motionless body. He didn’t appear to be breathing, but Tonc needed to make sure.

“Got it.” Bodhi unlocked Tonc’s cuffs and then waited while Tonc did the same for his restraints. 

“Thanks.” Tonc pocketed the keys and handed the pilot the rifle. “Aim it at him and try not to shoot me.”

Bodhi made a face at him. “I’m not an idiot. What are you going to do?”

Tonc didn’t answer, instead he slid down the ravine again. He checked Marneth for a pulse, but found none. Nodding curtly, he grabbing the militiaman’s rifle and looked up at his friend. Bodhi reached out a hand to help Tonc back up to the path. 

“Okay,” Tonc said, once they were both standing on level ground. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to continue that way,” he pointed toward the castle, “to get help. I’m going to go back to see what I can do for Cassian.” Assuming he’s still alive, Tonc thought wearily. Jyn had warned him about the pill, he should have-

“Shouldn’t we stay together? You’ll need backup-“

“Which you’re going to bring me. Look,“ he put a hand on Bodhi’s uninjured shoulder, “the two of us aren’t going to be able to take on all the Imperials, which is why you need to go to the castle. But we also need to keep an eye on things back at the ship. If we split up we can do both.” Bodhi looked at him skeptically and Tonc tried to smile. Besides, he thought, this way I’ll at least be able to save one of you. Out loud he said, “Besides, you’re the faster runner. Faster there means faster back, right?”

“Right.” Bodhi still looked wary. “You’ll be careful, right?”

“Of course.” Tonc grinned. “Now hurry, we’re on the clock.” With one last nod of confidence, he jogged back the way they’d come. This time he didn’t risk looking behind him. 

——

Bodhi sighed as he watched Tonc disappear back in the direction of the shuttle. He was so very tired - tireder then he’d been even during flight training or long hauls to the outer rim. Part of him wanted to do as he was told, run for help and run away from the danger. Hadn’t he done enough already? They’d gotten the Death Star plans to the rebellion - all of this was more than he’d signed up for.

But he had Cassian and Tonc to consider. They were injured and probably as exhausted as he was, but both were still fighting. He couldn’t just abandon them. What if Jyn and Danva were already on their way back? Surely they must have realized something was wrong by now. What if he made it to the castle only to find out that he’d missed them? He looked down at his clothes and a new thought occurred to him. What if he showed up wearing an Imperial pilot’s uniform at their meeting with an anti-Imperial anarchist?

He weighed his options and quickly reached a decision. Slinging the blaster rifle over his good shoulder, Bodhi cautiously followed Tonc back toward the cargo ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever to figure out and it was far less complicated than the next chapter likely will be, given that everyone is heading toward the same place. But we're getting near the end at last (hopefully). 
> 
> Plus, I got to make someone say "rebel scum." I'm not sure why that makes me happy, but it does.


End file.
